


Bound to you through the Ursa Major

by Beelzebub_fuckers



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Dubious Consent, Dubious Morality, I Don't Even Know, I kill myself, Is this crack?, Pining, Plot, Poor Dipper, Possessive Bill Cipher, Romantic Soulmates, Self-Indulgent, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Weirdmageddon, but im treating this serious. Serious story, get it pining?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:15:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23566696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beelzebub_fuckers/pseuds/Beelzebub_fuckers
Summary: Bill Cipher has a soulmate. He finds it in the unusual little town of Gravity Falls, where all strange things are found. Now he has to convince his soulmate to be with him forever. But will Bill Cipher be changed in the process?The first and original in a series
Relationships: Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines
Comments: 99
Kudos: 510
Collections: Bound to you through the Ursa Major





	1. Chapter 1

In the endless void between existence and nonexistence, Bill Cipher came into being. A name, an endless power at his disposal, and a mark on his arm. That was all he was in the beginning.

This creature was a demon. Demons were creatures like every other living thing in the universe. They were bound to certain rules, they had limitations and weaknesses, and they had souls. Demons were different from other creatures. Immortal and capable of changing the fabric of reality, the rules that applied to them were different than that of other creatures. They could make deals, but couldn’t break promises. They could bend reality, but not break it. They could control their fates. They had souls.

Sometimes souls were split at the point of existence. Like the explosion that created the universe, everything to exist was torn apart in a single moment. The matter that floated in between the void of space had the potential to become something, but it had to collect. Things swirled and collected around points in gravity. They created stars, planets, moons, and comets. They also became souls. But the pieces of souls were sometimes incomplete. They attached to other matter or came out incomplete. Not every creature had a soulmate.

But Bill Cipher had a soulmate.

Before time meant anything, before the existence of the Milky Way, Bill had a mark on his arm. The signifier of his soulmate. He would do anything to find it. Like all creatures with soulmates, he was drawn to his other half. The incomplete part of him that would make him whole again. Soulmates were important in more than one way. Powerful though he was, he was limited by the lack of his soulmate. Were Bill Cipher to have his soul completed, he would have the power to reign over the universe.

He was desperate to find them.

But as millennia dragged on, he began to lose hope. His wanton destruction and eons of searching brought him no closer to his missing half. Rage boiled inside of him. Bill was a demon, an incredibly powerful demon. Stunted he may be, but he didn’t need his second half. He hid his soul mark in a powerful illusion. Those who knew about his unfound soulmate faded with time. Soon the fact that Bill Cipher had a soulmate was completely forgotten. Bill Cipher gave up on ever finding his second half.

Millions of years later, the Milky Way was born. The stars that came to form the Ursa Major twinkled in the heavens above a lifeless planet in an unknown solar system. The planet Earth.

Earth didn’t remain undisturbed. It hosted a large diversity of life. Plants, fungi, birds, fish, and mammals. Among mammals there were humans. The most intelligent life native to that planet. In an obscure, underpopulated corner of the planet laid Gravity Falls, the strangest mystery of its galaxy. All sorts of things were drawn to Gravity Falls. Gnomes, zombies, magical forces, demons, aliens, and Bill Cipher’s soulmate.

In the forest of Gravity Falls, a young girl was making a terrible mistake. She was having a moment of irrational desperation. Abandoned by her closest friend and brother, she wanted Summer to last forever. She didn’t want to grow up. She wanted an easy solution. And when she was promised one, she handed off the key to the end of the world to a demon. Her eyes widened in terror when the time traveler took off his goggles to reveal the glowing golden eyes of a predator.

“Oh no! Wait, wait, wait!” She held out her hands and took several steps backward. The demon snapped his fingers, and Mabel fell unconscious. The demon laughed hysterically as it ripped itself from the possessed body of its host.

“At last! At long, long last! The gate between worlds has opened. The event one BILLION years prophesized has come to pass!” He rose into the sky, arms raised in triumph. “The day has come, the world is finally mine!”

The girl laid unmoving underneath a darkening sky. A wound opened in the fabric of reality, showing the gaping maw of the other world. The residents of Gravity Falls looked to the sky in shock. Dipper Pines ran out of the Mystery Shack and saw the rift.

“What’s going on?! What is that?” He shouted. A hellish red light fell over the forest. He squinted and flinched away from the heat of the rift.

“We’re too late! It’s the end of the world.” Ford whispered. Dipper gasped. Bill rose above Gravity Falls, untamed and unstoppable. His sister was lost. The world was lost. All he felt was fear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to do a quick summary of Weirdmaggedon. It will last a couple of chapters. I'm going to change things throughout, but keep the same basic story of the canon. Dipper's actions through Weirdmaggedon will be important for MY story, and I can't be sure that everyone who reads this will have seen Weirdmaggedon recently. So I'm doing a recap. I hope you enjoy the Weirdmaggedon^2, fanfic addition!

Dipper stood with his Great Uncle in front of the Mystery Shack. They shared a moment of horrified, speechless silence as they both tried to wrap their heads around the anomaly above them. Bill had a physical form. There were monsters stepping out of the rip of reality. Bill was announcing his arrival to the townspeople. Already the townspeople were being carried away, a great stone pyramid rose from the earth, multicolored bubbles popped into existence. A shockwave shook the town.

“So this is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a…” Ford gestured a circular motion around his temple.

“Weirdmaggedon.” Dipper whispered.

“The rift is shattered. Bill’s world is spilling into ours and every minute his powers grow stronger.” Ford said with a furrowed brow.

A feeling of panic clenched his stomach. “Mabel! The rift must have cracked inside of her backpack. She must be in danger! I have to go find her!” He shouted. Without thinking he began running off into the forest. He banged hopelessly on his handheld radio before Ford stopped him. He was turned forcefully by his Uncle to face him.

“Dipper, listen to me! We can find your sister soon. But first, we have to stop Bill. If we can blast him back through the rip he came out of, we just _might_ be able to stop him before his weirdness spreads across the entire globe!”

“Might” didn’t sound very hopeful, and Dipper couldn’t stamp out the panic that clawed at his throat. His sister was out there. Alone and possibly hurt. But in the chaos, there was no guarantee he could find her. “Are you sure defeating Bill is even possible?” Dipper asked, and he couldn’t keep the doubt out of his voice.

“No. I’m not sure. But being a hero means fighting back even when it seems _impossible._ ”

It did seem impossible. Especially without Mabel at his side. She was always the optimistic one. The one with the big ideas and the confidence that they could achieve them. How could he do it without her? He wasn’t the hero. But Mabel needed a hero. He would do anything for her.

“Will you follow me?” Ford asked pleadingly.

 _For Mabel._ “To the ends of the Earth.” He promised.

“Good. Because that’s where we’re heading.” Ford’s eyes widened at something behind him. “Also, you might want to step inside.” He grabbed his Uncle’s hand and ran for the Mystery Shack.

They rode out the wave, Dipper clutching his Uncle like a frightened child while the earth shook in madness. Ford didn’t comment. He only stroked his nephew’s back as it passed. When it was over, they grabbed his weapon and ran for the church. They snuck past the demons and climbed in through a broken window. They climbed the steps and came to the top of the bell tower. Ford laid out his case. Dipper scouted through the window with his binoculars. “Ah, my quantum destabilizer. We’re only gonna have one chance to take this shot.”

Ford charged his weapon and aimed it towards the demon. Just as he locked on and fired his weapon, the church bell came to life. It distracted him, and he missed his shot. “Oh no!” He cried.

Bill turned towards his attacker. His large eye fixed upon the scholar. “Well, well. And I thought today couldn’t get any BETTER!”

He shouted the last word, pointing his finger. The bell tower was blown off the church in a ball of flames. Dipper laid dazed for a moment. He sat up as a shot of fear electrified his body. “Great Uncle Ford!” He cried.

Ford was alive. Trapped beneath church rubble. He pushed himself onto his elbows, grunting with the effort. “Dipper! Take my journals.” He slid the book to his great-nephew. “The way to defeat Bill, it’s–” He heard the sizzle of the air as Bill approached, and he knew there was no time. “Oh no! Dipper, run, get down!”

Dipper, the brave boy, headed his advice. He scrambled down the church steps as Bill rose into the sky to tower over them. “Good old six fingers! I’ve been waiting an eternity to have a chat face to face!”

Ford cried in fear as he was lifted into the air with magic. “Everyone, this armageddon wouldn’t be possible without help from our friend here! Give him a six-fingered hand!”

The demons applauded and cackled. Whether from genuine gratitude or mockery Dipper couldn’t say. But he’d guess the latter. Ford struggled against the force holding him up. Dipper ran out of the church. “This brainiac is the one who built the portal in the first place!” He turned his great uncle by the head. “Aw, don’t look so sour Fordsy. It’s not too late to join me! With that extra finger, you’d fit right in with the rest of my freaks!”

“I’ll die before I join you!” Ford yelled. His jaw set and furious. Dipper clutched the journal to his chest in fear. “I know your weakness, Bill!”

“Oh yeah? And I know a riddle! Why did the old man do this?” Bill raised his arms in demonstration, his fingers slightly crooked.

Ford replicated the gesture. “This?”

As soon as he was in position, Bill blasted him with an eye laser. Dipper watched horrified as his Uncle with frozen solid in pure gold. He gasped when he fell to the ground. “Because I needed a new back scratcher!” Bill finished with a sadistic laugh. Dipper growled in anger.

“That’s enough!” He lept out from hiding, brandishing the journal as his weapon. “Hand over my uncle, or else!”

Bill fixed his large, unblinking eye upon the child. “Now isn’t. This. INTERESTING.” He was in front of Dipper in an instant. And Dipper tried to ignore the way his heart dropped out of his ass at the shock. “My old puppet is back for an encore!” He dangled Dipper’s frozen uncle in front of him in mockery. “You think YOU can stop me?! Go ahead Pine Tree, show me what you’ve got!”

“I, uuuh…” Dipper nervously bit his lip. Sweat trickled down his face as he frantically flipped pages of the journal. He’d spent a whole summer reading this journal again and again and again. His fingers immediately found the place dedicated to the demon Bill Cipher. He flipped more pages and pulled out his blacklight. Dipper read the warning in invisible ink. _If he gains physical form then all is lost!_ Not promising.

“I UM I!” Bill taunted. “Do it, kid! Do some BRILLIANT thing that takes me down right now! Whadya got Pine Tree? Everyone’s waiting! Do it!”

Dipper was overwhelmed. He had nothing. Nothing in the journal that could stop him. He was nothing. A scrawny little kid who wanted to be a hero. He shouted, and did the one thing he’d been watching action heroes do on TV all his life. He leaped forward with his fist raised. “BILL!”

Bill stopped him easily. Throwing him off. Dipper’s frail body flew backward, and he slammed against a tree. Between that and the explosion in the church, he was a little worse for wear. The demons laughed at his suffering. He groaned and reached for his journal. Bill snatched it out of his hands. “That’s right!” Bill shouted. “Don’t be a hero! This is what happens to heroes in my world!” He brandished Uncle Ford in his _face_ before setting the journals ablaze. Dipper felt his blood freeze in his veins as he watched the last hope of Gravity Falls char and burn.

“No! The journals!” Dipper cried.

“Not much of a threat now, are you?” Bill turned away. Dipper staggered to his feet. That wasn’t it. That couldn’t be it. His sister was still out there. His Uncle was captured. Grunkle Stan was god knows where. His friends, his life here in the Falls. It couldn’t go up in flames. The burnt journals landed at his feet. “Now can anyone remind me why we came here?!”

“To get weird!” 8-ball said.

“That’s right! VIP party at the Fearamid! Oh and 8-ball, Teeth, you’ve earned a treat. Have the kid for a snack.”

“Huh?” Dipper looked up. The demons had fixed their gaze upon him. He clutched his stomach in pain. It was time to run. Before he was devoured.

* * *

Dipper was sitting on top of the roof of the Gravity Malls with Wendy. She had a lukewarm soda in one hand, her chin in the other. She took a deep swig, looking out on the razed landscape of their home. Her hair was a ragged mess, and her clothes torn and filthy. Even like this she was beautiful. He appreciated her, clutching his own soda in shaking hands.

“Bill was right.” He said quietly. He watched several more of the townspeople turn into stone on the streets. They were pulled away into the Fearamid. “There’s no room for heroes in his world.”

“This isn’t his world.” Wendy said firmly. “This is still our world. As long as we’re here to defend it. Your sister needs a hero right now. And we’re going to get her. Together.”

Dipper smiled softly. “But we don’t have a plan. We don’t have a clue where she is.”

But it seemed Dipper’s luck hadn’t run out yet. As he said so, a monster ate away a large billboard. In the distance, over the steel bridge was a large, pulsing bubble wrapped in chains. Dipper squinter at the sinister object. On it’s eerily glowing surface was the symbol of the shooting star. His eye’s shot open in recognition. “That’s the sweater Mabel always wears! That’s where she has to be.”

“Well I guess that’s where we’re heading then.” Wendy said confidently.

“But that’s all the way across the Falls.” Dipper pointed out. “On foot it would take hours to get there. We’d never make it.”

“Not on foot.” Wendy agreed. “But take a look at that.” She pointed down onto the street. About a block away from their current location was Gleeful’s Auto Sale. The used car lot for the Falls. She turned back to Dipper, a devilish grin on her face. “So, Dipper. Wanna go for a ride?”

* * *

The party in the Fearmaid was going exactly as planned. Demons were drinking, dancing, fighting, and generally participating in mad chaos. It was a lovely party with his favorite freaks. Bill was kicking back on his throne of human agony and enjoying the weather. The flames of Gravity Falls burning made for a lovely warm day.

8-ball and Teeth approached, looking slightly nervous. “Uh, boss? We kinda let the human get away.”

Bill would smile, had he a mouth. Of course they did. He was a Pines after all. They weren’t so easily defeated. If a coniving, powerful demon such as himself couldn’t destroy the Pines family in one fell swoop, how could he expect these small time demons to do so? He kicked his feet up and took a sip from his glass of blood. “Ah, don’t worry about it. I’ve got demons, Gideon, and unspeakable horrors set up all the way across the Falls.” He explained. “It would be a miracle if he survived. He’s going to try and get his sister. Let’s assume he makes it to Shooting Star. I have her set up in the most devious trap I’ve ever concieved. It would take a will of titanium to escape that horrorshow. What chance does a twelve year old have?”

He believed it, too. Mabel was easily tricked, with her impulsive desire for summertime fun and boys. Fordsy, the “smart one,” had been swayed with empty flattery and teasing tidbits of false knowledge. Dipper would enter the bubble to save his sister and be trapped in his most fabulous dreams. He put the child out of his mind. Time to go back to enjoying the apocolypse.

It was a beautiful day in Gravity Falls.


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper’s fingers screamed in protest. He was gripping the sides of the car so hard he though his fingers might fall off. Never before had he felt so much appreciation for seatbelts. Wendy spun the steering wheel wildly, trying to evade demons, potholes, and Gideon’s prison gang. They were coming up on a ravine so wide Dipper was certain they would never cross it. He clenched his eyes shut and prayed.

They went flying over the gap. Wendy didn’t stop for a minute. Gravity left them and Dipper felt his guts soar inside of his chest cavity in a way that was both nauseating and terrifying. Until they crash-landed on the other side.

The car hit the ground nose first and flipped over and over and over. Dipper and Wendy were thrown back and forth against the sides of the vehicle. Dipper felt explosions of pain at his sides. He was certain his arms must be broken. Maybe his legs too. His limbs were jerked around and his head snapped to the side. He wanted to scream but he wasn’t sure he could even breathe. There was an agonizing moment of sheer terror as the car jolted to a stop, having landed right side up.

Dipper fell out of the open car and gasped for air. He crawled along the ground on his belly like an animal. He was alive. Was Wendy alive? He didn’t know. He couldn’t stand up. “So close.” He heard himself gasp. “Mabel… I’m almost there…” He coughed, the action sending violent stabs of pain through his ribs. He couldn’t make it.

A pair of shoes landed before him, and Dipper craned his head up. He winced at the twinge in his neck as he did so. A figure cloaked in black robes was looking down at him from above. Dipper weighed his options. He was in no condition to fight. Wendy probably wasn’t either. He could only hope to play dead or plead for his life. He opened his mouth to speak, but a hand was thrust out to him. The figure discarded his hood to reveal Soos. “What’s up, dude?” He said in greeting, friendly and completely oblivious to how terrifying he might have been to the child.

“Soos!” Dipper cried, his voice wheezed and rattled and he coughed again. Soos’s friendly smile was instantly replaced with a look of grave concern. He bent down to examine his friend. Pressing gently against his chest.

“Good news, dude. Your ribs are broken, but your lungs are fine. You’re just shaken from that crash you had.” Dipper raised his thumb up in agreement. He would kill for a glass of water right now. Soos handed him a waterskin. He drank greedily as Soos turned to retrieve Wendy. After checking her arms, he was happy to say that she was okay too. But they were surrounded.   
Gideon stood over his fallen enemies with a triumphant grin on his face. “Woo-wee! I dare say you almost had the jump on me there for a second. But this ain’t your Gravity Falls anymore! Out here, I win.” He clapped his hands twice and was tossed a war horn. He blew into it, and a sound rang out over the valley. Dipper heard the screech of animals in the distance. “Bill’s hench bats will be here any minute to retrieve y’all. Mabel’s mine now!” Gideon laughed, raising his arms in childish victory.

Dipper held the key in his hands. Gideon was obviously obsessed with his sister. This was his way of expressing what he probably actually believed to be love. He wanted Mabel’s affections. But this wasn’t the way to a woman’s heart. Or _anyone’s_ heart for that matter. Love wasn’t something that could happen when one is trapped inside of a cage. “Is she?” He asked.

“Well, yeah. I have her trapped.” Gideon explained. “Ergo, Mabel is mine!”

“Gideon, listen to me. If I’ve learned anything this summer, it’s that you can’t force someone to love you.” Dipper said, looking back with a little guilt towards Wendy. “Love is only something that can happen without threat of force. She has to be free in order to freely love you. The best you can do is strive to be someone worthy of loving.”

“Oh, I’m worthy of loving.” Gideon shouted. “These prisoners love me!”

“But Mabel doesn’t. Because you’re selfish. But you can change!” He said with a smile. “Bill thinks there’s no heroes in this world, but if we work together and fight back, we can defeat him. You wanna be Mabel’s hero? Stand up to Bill and let us save her!”

“That’s crazy!” Gideon cried. “Do you know what Bill would do to me if that happens?”

“What, are you scared of Bill?” Ghost Eyes asked.

“No, I just…” Gideon struggled. “It’s a complicated situation.”

“Look inside, Gideon.” Dipper pleaded. “If all this is for Mabel, then ask yourself what Mabel would want you to do.”

Gideon considered, looking at his picture of her. A frown crossed his face. Dipper felt a rising sense of hope. Maybe Gideon really _did_ love his sister under all the misguided, unhealthy notions of owning her. There was a tense moment in the air. Dipper’s fist tightened around the key to his sister.

“Dipper, will you tell her what I did?” Gideon said quietly.

“Of course.” He promised.

“I hope you’re right about this.” Gideon nervously wrung his hands around his picture of Mabel. “Guys, new plan! Bill’s minions are going to be on us in seconds. But I’m not going to let that dumb triangle be the warden of me. Y’all ready for a good old-fashioned prison brawl?”

His prisoners cheered in agreement. “We’re behind you for life, brother!” Ghost Eyes promised.

“Fighting children is boring.” Another said. “Fighting a chaos god sounds fun!”

Dipper nearly sighed in relief. Gideon had been the biggest pain in his butt in the past. But he would also be his greatest ally. “Let’s do this!” Gideon cried. “Henchmen, roll out!” They disappeared into the distance in a cloud of dust and a raucous round of whoops and yells.

Soos wiped his forehead in relief. “Whew! And I thought I was gonna have to throw down.”

All obstacles were finally out of their way. Now it was just them and the prison bubble. Dipper held up his key. He released a tense breath. His nerves buzzed under his skin. It was now or never. It was time to save his sister. “Okay. Remember, guys, this is a prison bubble designed by Bill. We’ve gotta prepare ourselves for what we find in there.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll do it together.” Soos promised. He put his hand out. “For Mabel.”

“For Mabel!” Wendy agreed, stacking his hand on top of his.

“For Mabel!” Dipper said, putting his hand in with the rest of theirs. With that, he turned the key in the lock. The chains fell away and into the depths below. Dipper took Soos’s hand, and Wendy’s hand, and they walked in together.

* * *

Bill was quite happy with his continuing party and growing throne. But maybe his throne could get a little bit bigger. Or the party a bit louder! Gravity Falls was just one place after all. And it was easily conquered from the terrified, underprepared citizens. It was time to move on a little bit. He clinked his fork against Ford’s frozen body. The party paused for their leader’s address.

“Ladies, gentlemen, that creature with like 87 different faces.”

“88 different faces!” It corrected with an irritated scowl on every face.

“Woah, sorry. Touchy subject. Anyway, it’s been fun turning Gravity Falls inside out, rounding up all its terrified citizens and then stacking them into this massive throne of frozen human agony.”

The demonstrated to the large stone chair, where eyeball bats were continuing to work statues into the puzzle work that was his new throne. “Don’t worry. They’re not conscious anymore. Probably.”

“But Gravity Falls is just the beginning.” He promised. “It’s time to take our chaos worldwide! Alright boys, to the corners of the Earth! Set the world aflame with your weirdness. This dimension is ours!”

His demons eagerly exited the fearamid, flying into the sky, only to be struck down by an unanticipated barrier. They fell to the ground, stunned. “What?!” Bill shouted in frustration. He flew up himself to inspect it. His finger, too, was stopped by the barrier. It seems Gravity Falls was more unusual than first meets the eye. “Hm. This might be more complicated than I thought.”

* * *

Dipper, Soos, and Wendy were falling through a seemingly endless void. Colors blinded them as they fell. Dipper was increasingly worried about hitting the bottom. Or falling through the bubble and down the cliff into the unforgiving ground below. But instead they landed on something soft and rubbery. Dipper inspected it. “Is the entire ground a bouncy castle?”

“Do you hear 80’s music?” Wendy asked.

“And does the air smell like childlike wonder?” Soos wondered aloud. It was a ridiculous thing to ask. There was no smell like that. But Dipper knew exactly what he meant. This land was… strange. They turned and opened the flaps to the bouncy castle. “Woah!” They all breathed as they looked out into the new world they were in.

The colors were bright and blinding. Yarn was wrapped around the buildings and gummies lined the streets. Dipper saw several unicorns. And faceless figures dancing in the distance. Stuffed animals skipped across idyllic fields. Glitter drifted from the sky like snow, but there were no clouds in came from. Only endless sunshine and multiple rainbows stretched out over the endless landscape. “This is Mabel’s prison?” Dipper gasped.

“Yes. Definitely. Absolutely!” A handsome young man said. Actually, there were a lot of those. And sweaters flew through the sky like birds. Dipper was insanely creeped by this world. It wasn’t the artificially bright colors, or the strange weather, or the repetitive music. It was the bad feeling given off by this land. Like a curse. He imagined he was right. This was made by a demon. Dipper couldn’t shake the burning forest of his summer home outside.

They stepped out of the bouncy castle. It was even more peaceful and picturesque the further you went in. Stuffed animals hugged each other in the streets. In the local park, handsome boys sat on picnic blankets, braiding bright flowers together in chains. Everyone had bright white, perfect teeth. Dipper kept his head down. He clutched his hat close to his head to try and block out the sunny music.

Within minutes of their arrival, they were guided to Mabel’s castle by two ridiculously handsome and chipper young men. Dipper scoffed at their stylish clothes and colorful chrome sunglasses. How totally 80’s. He had to hand it to Bill. He made the perfect little prison for his sister.

“This place reminds me of Fun Dip.” Dipper grumbled. “It’s creepy. Come on. Let’s get Mabel and release her from this hellscape.”

They ran past the waffle guards into the sandcastle tower. Dashing up the colorful stairwell into her room in the tower. Mabel laid sleeping on an opulent bed. Dipper breathed a sigh of relief. At least Mabel was safe. Soos lifted her out of her sheets. “Up you go little lady.” He said politely. Mabel began to stir as Wendy stacked balloon furniture up against the door.

“Soos, Wendy? Dipper?”

“The waffles are coming back! We gotta hurry!” Wendy shouted frantically. She threw her body against the door, attempting to block them as they battered against the door. Sticking their butter knives in through the gap to wrench their way in.

“Uh, guys?” Mabel said.

“Don’t worry Mabel, we’ll get you out of this!” Dipper promised. He held against the furniture with Wendy. They were getting more persistent.

“But Dipper…” She said, frustration leaking into her voice. When it was clear no one would listen to her, she clapped her hands twice. All at once Dipper, Wendy, and Soos floated into the air away from the door. Mabel rearranged her furniture with a wave of her hand and placed them into chairs.

The waffle guards finally burst through the doors; knives ready. But Mabel called them off with another commanding series of claps.

Dipper was dumbfounded. “Mabel! What are you doing? We’re trying to save you from this prison!”

“This isn’t a prison!” Mabel insisted happily. “I made this world!” The lights turned on with another two claps. “Well, I sorta woke up here. It’s complicated.”

Dipper leaned forward in his seat. His heart sunk in his chest a little. Maybe she was under some kind of enchantment. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying this is my home now. And I don’t wanna be saved!”

Mabel explained to him how she loved this world. She didn’t want to go back to a reality where her brother was leaving her. An endless summer where she never had to grow up was preferable to the real world with her real brother. She tried to convince him that this candy colored nightmare was somehow better than the Mystery Shack. She even made a different Dipper with a “more supportive attitude.” He was dressed in an 80’s disaster riding a skateboard. It stung Dipper to know his sister would rather have a fantasy of him than the reality. After taunting him with Dippy Fresh, she tempted his friends with their fantasies. Destructive teenage fun for Wendy, and a father that loved Soos unconditionally.

Dipper’s heart ached seeing Soos run off with a fake father. It was just cruel to use this kind of trauma against him. “Okay, this has gone too far! You can’t honestly think these fantasies are good for anyone.” He shouted, pointing his finger at his sister.

“You can’t argue with the results.” She replied gently. “People are happy here! Does it really matter if it’s real or not?”

 _Yes, it does._ Dipper thought about how heartbroken Soos would be once they left this place. When they saved the Falls, and Soos went back to working at the Mystery Shack. Soos would have to face the crushing reality of his father leaving him all over again.

Mabel was still talking. “For once, stop listening to your head and listen to your heart. Mabeland has something for everyone! Even you. In fact…”

The glistening golden doors began to open. Dipper heard a literal choir. Overkill, much? Heavenly light spilled into the room and Dipper had enough. He threw his hands up against his face to shield his peripheral vision. “Nope. Not looking. Not looking.” He walked away down an easily available flight of stairs. He didn’t look back.

* * *

Bill was fuming inside of his Fearamid. His demons stood about, looking up at him in horrified anticipation of his anger. He flew about back and forth, the same way one would pace if they were walking. “Alright. Can anybody explain to me why, even with our newfound INFINITE POWER—”

The demons ran to avoid the lightning that shot off of their leader, blasting craters in columns and throwing fierce shadows on the walls. “—none of us can escape the borders of this STUPID HICK TOWN?!” He sat back into his throne; one leg crossed over the other. “There’s some kind of force field keeping us in. But who would know how to fix it?” He picked up the statue of his Pines scientist. He contemplated the frozen face of fear on his golden face. “Hmm. Maybe someone needs to come out of retirement.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao. This is going fast. Good. Then I can get to the original part of my story! I can't wait. I have so many ideas! Stay tuned


	4. Chapter 4

Dipper walked quickly through the candy colored land. He tipped his head down and avoided prolonged eye contact. He held his breath whenever he caught a whiff of anything _too_ sweet. Eventually he came to a sparkling river of clear water. A happy singing stuffed animal tree looked over the river, singing a happy song about being a tree. He sighed and tossed a rock into the water. Even his skips were perfect. He watched bitterly as the pebbles bounced endlessly over the smooth current. The pleasant _sploosh_ es and giggling of the creek annoyed him rather than soothed him. He was just about to toss another rock into the water when Wendy came to sit beside him.

“Oh hey, Wendy. I thought you were busy wrecking the school or whatever.” Dipper said, annoyed.

“Yeah. That got old quick. And this music is really starting to get on my nerves.” She said. “I think that stuff you said about this place is right.”

“Really?” That was a relief. At least someone still understood. “Well, now we just need a plan.”

“Don’t worry. You always think of something.” She said. She punctuated her sentence by tossing another rock into giggle creek. The rock bounced off the water into the endless horizon and ended with a firework.

“You know, you’re so much smarter than, like, everyone else.” Wendy said earnestly. She laid back into the emerald green grass with her arms tucked behind her head. One muddy boot propped up on her knee in relaxation. Dipper flushed at the flattery. “Heh. It’s kinda funny. If you were older, you’d be like, my dream guy.”

A shock went through Dipper, and his heart stuttered. “Wait. Do you really mean that?” He squeaked.

“Wait a minute. In this place, you can be any age you want.” She turned over to pluck mindlessly at a flower. God, her smile was gorgeous. Her head was propped casually up on her hand and her red hair fell over her shoulder in the most beautiful way. “If we were the same age, maybe you and me could… I don’t know… Actually be together.” She finished shyly.

“Wait.” Dipper said again, scrambling to sit up. “Really?”

“I bet if we asked Mabel, she could do it right now.” Wendy said excitedly. And Dipper’s heart was soaring. “In this place, it could finally be just you and me.” He’d wanted to hear that for so long. She stood and extended her hand to him. Her face looked so soft in the golden light. “Come on man, just take my hand.”

He almost did, reaching out. Until he realized with a sinking feeling that this was a handshake. A deal. “Wait!” He screamed. “This isn’t real!”

His terrified suspicions were confirmed. Wendy’s beautiful face melted away to reveal a shambling effigy of cockroaches writhing beneath her clothes. He screamed in horror as her form began to fall away, bugs scattering into the flowers. He dragged himself backwards on his elbows away from it. The tree, no longer singing, turned to him.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Dipper!” It growled. Glowing golden eyes glowered at him. Dipper’s heart raced in his aching chest. The sky turned a sinister red. The illusion fell away for a moment, and Dipper saw what this world really was. A curse. With eyes everywhere. “We’re watching you.”

The stuffed animals leered from the tree’s branches. “There are eyes everywhere.” They taunted.

The illusion snapped back into place as Sev’ral Timez rode past on a bicycle for five. “Hey Dipper!” “—Hey Dipper,” “—Hi Dipper!” They all said cheerfully. Dipper snapped his head back around to look at the stuffed animal tree, only to see his bright eyes and cheerful smile were back in place. Dipper ran.

“This is crazy! We have to go back. We have to get back to the real world!” He shouted.

A collective gasp rose up over the town. Several waffle guards descended on him. He cried out, looking up at their furious faces. He didn’t trust anyone. Not these guards, the water, the trees, or the stuffed animals. They could all be demons. They could all be bugs beneath a writhing costume of human skin. Dipper struggled in their hold.

“Under Article Smiley Face of Exhibit Squeaky Duck, you are hereby accused of breaking our one rule— mentioning reality.” The waffle guard said gravely.

Another clamoring of murmurs and gasps came from the gathered crowd. Mabel was there, her teeth dug into her lip and her face pinched in worry. Wendy stood beside her, and Dipper felt another bolt of fear. Was she the real one? Was anyone real here? What if Wendy and Soos were already dead? He struggled again.

“Prepare to be banished from this land forever!” The waffle guard continued.

No! He couldn’t leave without Mabel. She would be trapped here forever among ever watchful eyes. She would die here without him. He looked at her with wild eyes. “Mabel! You’re smarter than this!” Dipper shouted frantically. “Bill has you hypnotized or something! Are you really going to let them banish me?!”

“No! Of course not. That’s my brother guys.” Mabel said with a frown. So that was her, at least. He felt a wave of relief that she still cared about him. Even if she had Dippy Fresh. She still loved him. “There’s gotta be another way.”

“Very well.” The waffle guard said with a scowl. “If Dipper wishes to stay, he must plead his case in the ultimate trial of Fantasy vs. Reality.”

* * *

In the court there was a menagerie of colorful creatures gathered to watch Dipper’s trial. Stuffed animals and clowns and handsome boy toys. At the judge’s seat, a magenta cat lounged over a cat tree. He banged a squeaky gavel against his podium. “Order, order! This trial begins right meow.”

Dipper sighed. Of course.

“We are here to try Dipper Pines in the case of Fantasy vs. Reality. If Dipper wins, Mabel will return with him to the real world.” He offered with outstretched claws. “But if he loses, he will be banished forever, and replaced with town darling Dippy Fresh. Dippy, come on out.”

Another wave of jealous rage boiled in Dipper at the sigh of his sister’s fantasy. “I hate him so much.” He growled while he pounded his fists against the table.

“The final decision will be made by a jury of your peers.” A jury of Mabels appeared in the stands. Two radically fresh young dudes came out in suits with ripped sleeves as Mabel’s legal team. Dipper rolled his eyes. This was ridiculous.

“Let’s hear the opening statements.”

One of the young men flashed a winning grin. “Your honor, townsfolk, lovely ladies of the jury.” A raucous round of giggling rose up. “My case is simple. This very unrighteous dude thinks that reality is better than fantasy. But reality is bogus, lame, and whack.”

“Objection, Your Honor. That’s conjecture.”

“Meow-vveruled!” The judge shouted.

“I’d like to show you this ‘reality’ that Dipper loves so much. Show you how it has wronged my client, and Dipper their entire lives.” The blond man said. With that he pulled out a scrapbook. Of course, a scrapbook. _Mabel Memories_ it was labeled. “Exhibit A. Mabel’s scrapbook.”

He flipped it open to a random page. “Second grade, October 10th.”

“Photo day.” Dipper breathed in recognition. He turned to see what he already remembered to have happened. A cruel bully girl sticking her gum into Mabel’s hair right before it was her turn to have her picture taken. His heart ached watching his sister run in tears.

“Mabel’s fantasy was having a great school photo, but reality had other plans.” The blue haired hunk finished.

“Look, that was one bad day.” Dipper protested.

“One of many. February 14th. Fourth grade.” The blond continued. “Valentine’s Day.”

Dipper watched with embarrassment while a bully pointed out that Dipper was the class loser, who got no Valentines that year. That Mabel was the pretty, popular twin. That he just… didn’t shine as bright compared to her. Dipper gripped his elbows watching the memory, hugging himself a little. “Hey, what’s the point of all this?! That was in the past.”

“Is your life any better now, bro?” The lawyer asked. “Heartbreak, disaster, broken promises. That’s reality for you.”

“Out there, it’s nothing but heartbreak. But in here, who wants pug sundaes?!”

Dipper groaned watching his sisters of the jury be presented ice cream.

“Well I think we’ve reached a verdict.” The judge said, batting some nearby yarn.

“Wait! I haven’t even presented my case.” Dipper cried.

The judge scowled down at him. “Do you even have a case?”

Dipper stood and approached the front. “Yes, I do, Your Honor. I call as a witness, Mabel Pines.”

The court gasped, even Soos and Wendy. Mabel gave a cheeky little grin. “Uh, objection?”

“I’ll allow it.” The judge conceded. Dipper was a little surprised. He was expecting that the court would stand in his way through every argument. Maybe Bill was a little curious, looking in with his all seeing eye.

 _Alright, Bill. I’ll give you what you want._ Dipper thought spitefully. _But you can’t have my sister_

Mabel walked to the front and sat in a plush velvet seat. Dipper sighed. “Mabel, listen. I might not have all the answers. I’m not stylish, and I’m not cool, and I can’t make pugs appear out of thin air.” He ignored the jeering Mabels from the sidelines. The only one he really needed to convince was his sister. “But I know one thing well, and that’s you. And I know that even though you might act like it, you don’t wanna be in this fantasy world.”

Mabel looked unsure. “Uh… pssshh! Yeah, right.”

“You’re scared of growing up. And who could blame you? I’m scared too.”

“Uh, la la la la la la! I’m not listening!” She shouted childishly, clapping her hands over her ears in a stubborn last resort.

“Look, real life stinks sometimes, I’m not gonna lie. But there’s a better way to get through it than denial and that’s with help from people who care about you. It’s how we’ve gotten through our whole lives.” Dipper picked up the scrapbook. He showed her how they took the picture with shaved stripes on their heads together. And how Mabel made him a super Valentine out of all the Valentines she’d received. “We’ve always been there for each other.”

He set the scrapbook aside. “Mabel, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. But whatever it is, you don’t have to fear, because we’ll do it together. I’ve always been there for you. That’s not going to change. Ever. We’ve traveled to heck and back to get you and we’re going back together. Leave this fantasy world, let’s beat Bill and grow up together.”

The court was loud with murmurs and doubts, but Mabel’s shining eyes were fixed only on him. Her heart was moved by him. “You mean it? You’re really coming home with me.”

“Yes. Definitely. Absolutely.” He promised. “Awkward sibling hug?”

“Sincere sibling hug.” She said. They fell into each other’s arms and the bubble shook. A wave went through the world and everything was still.

Mabel blinked several times. “Oh man! I never noticed how bright this place is. Ugh! Have I actually been listening to the same song for an entire week?” Dipper frowned. He knew that being in this place had put Mabel under a spell, but he didn’t like hearing about how Bill had messed with her mind. Behind them, the judge gave an agonized yowl. “Woah! Time to calm you down.” Mabel clapped twice. But nothing changed. She did it again. No dice. “Uh, why isn’t this working?”

“Because your reign over this land is over!” The judge shouted. He ripped off his disguise to reveal the bugs and rot that laid underneath. Mabel gasped as her beloved townsfolk turned dark.

“We gotta get outta here!” She cried.

“Soos, Wendy! Paradise is cancelled.” Dipper said. With that they were all running. Outside the courthouse, the land was dissolving, yarn fell around them and the sky turned dark and blood red. Cockroaches and spiders crawled over the streets. Lightning struck in the distance. They leapt onto Waddles nearby and rode his back out of town. The enraged, dark townsfolk chased after them.

“Alright guys, are you ready for this?!” Mabel leaned over the edge of her pig and grabbed a knitting needle. “Sorry Mabeland. It’s time to burst your bubble!” Waddles jumped away and Mabel held her needle up high, they were fast approaching the edge of the bubble, the prison shattered in a shower of confetti.

Waddles shrank down to normal size as they all sat up. “Are we good? Is everyone good?” She asked. Everyone rushed in to hug Mabel, laughing in relief.

“We’ve missed you, Mabel.” Soos said honestly.

“Man, I went nuts back there. I mean, come on. The real world can’t be that bad, right?” Mabel said cheerfully. Her face fell, looking out on the hellish burning landscape of Gravity Falls. “Oh boy.”

Dipper gripped his sister’s shoulder, attempting to comfort her. “Let’s go see if we can hide out at the Mystery Shack. We need a plan.”

Gravity Falls was in bad shape. Whereas before there had been stragglers and cowering children in the streets, now there was only the wind howling between the gaps in the buildings. Dipper held Mabel’s hand while they stepped over broken glass and shattered bricks. The door to the local bakery had been ripped straight off its hinges. Soos was less chipper than usual. “Has Bill already won?” He asked quietly. Dipper grabbed his hand in his own. He didn’t say anything.

The dirt road to the Mystery shack was covered in animal tracks and fallen branches. Something about the woods felt… off. Like there was something watching them. Their group hurried along the road, somewhere between a power walk and a run. Until they arrived at the Mystery Shack. It was untouched and eerily quiet. Dipper swallowed his nerves. He only hoped that his Grunkle was safe. Tucked away in some secret doomsday shelter with one of his many guns.

Mabel ran towards the front door, and her cheer at seeing their house was enough to spur them all forward. “Hello, house! Hello porch. Hello, wads of gum I left stuck to the couch.”

Dipper reached for the doorbell, and just as he was about to open it, he heard the rustling and muffled whispers of someone inside. A shot of adrenaline rushed through his system. “What. What was that?” He turned to his companions with a finger over his lips. “Shh.”

Dipper grabbed one of Grunkle Stan’s golf clubs. Wendy loaded her crossbow. Soos turned his hat around and readied his fists. Mabel held up her grappling hook. “Let’s get ‘em, dudes.” Soos said, determined.

Dipper kicked the door open and all four of them jumped inside, weapons drawn and warrior cries spilling out of their mouths.

Only to be confronted with the screaming, armed stragglers of the forest and town.

“Stan?”

“Kids?”

“Grunkle Stan!”

All at once Dipper and Mabel were rushing into the arms of their Grunkle with tears in their eyes. He threw down the baseball bat he was holding without any thought, kneeling and opening his arms to his great niece and nephew with a great smile on his face. “Kids! I can’t believe it!” He gripped them tight and lifted them into his embrace. “I thought I lost you two.”

Stan shouted in surprise when Soos threw himself into the hug, crying his own tears. “Mr. Pines, it’s really you! I’ve been hugging strangers to practice for this moment.”

Wendy also joined in, squeezing Stan’s shoulders in her hug. “We missed you, you old codger!”

Stan chuckled, putting his kids down. “I’ve missed you knuckleheads too.” He admitted. “It’s good to have you back.”

“So, what’s everyone doing here?” Dipper asked, looking at the menagerie of different townspeople and magical creatures gathered in the dark house. Chutzpaur was there, bandaged and injured, but muscular as ever. Several gnomes were peaking out between people’s legs. Some of the golf ball people skittered about like mice. The multibear stood among townspeople wearing an eyepatch. Pacifica wore a potato sack and dirty leather boots. Several elderly people were laid out on the couch.

“It’s a long story.” The multibear said.

Just then, everything was interrupted by a manotaur at the door. “Hey everyone! Eye bat!” He warned.

Everyone began to cry with fear. Grunkle Stan slammed the door shut. “Evasive maneuvers!” One gnome screamed. “Get the lights!” Another cried.

“Shh! Keep it down!” Grunkle Stan said, and he pushed Mabel and Dipper’s heads down so they weren’t visible from the windows. The lanterns were blown out. Everyone hid in dark corners and behind furniture. Several people dove under the dining table. Red light flooded through the windows as the eyeball ran its laser vision around the edges of the house.

They waited for several terrifying moments until the light went away from the windows. Then they were left in complete darkness. There was only the sound of panicked breathing while they waited for several long minutes, just to be safe. Then Stan lit a match and threw it in the garbage can, lighting up the room.

“Welcome to what’s left of normal around here.” He explained. “Home base.”

Dipper and Mabel looked with growing guilt and worry at the refugees Grunkle Stan had gathered. A unicorn laid in the corner; half turned to stone. Sheriff Blubs cried in the corner, comforted by a group of gnomes, but there was little they could do for the inconsolable officer. Dipper suddenly realized Deputy Durland was nowhere to be seen. It was the first time he’d seen Blubs without his partner. Tobey was having the darts from earlier removed on the couch, a gnome held his hand to comfort him. A child sat without any parents beside him. Sev’ral Timez was heavily bandaged on a bench.

“Grunkle Stan, how’d this all happen?” Mabel asked quietly.

“So I was hammering signs out back when the sky started vomiting nightmares. I listen to a lot of Am radio, so I knew what this meant. The end of the world. What I didn’t expect was what happened next.”

Stan explained how he took shelter in the Shack, when the totem pole came to life and began to attack the building, only to be stopped by some sort of force field. It didn’t work on magical creatures or townspeople, since they were able to get inside to take shelter. Only on demonic forces. “Turns out whatever you and my brother did to the Shack with your unicorn voodoo made the crazy place invincible to weirdness.”

“Of course— the unicorn spell!” Dipper said. “That’s why this is the only place Bill’s magic can’t touch!”

“That’s when opossum breath over here showed up leading a bunch of injured stragglers through the forest.” Stan said, pointing to McGucket. “They needed a place to stay, and since the Mayor got captured, I elected myself de facto-chief.” He proudly gestured to a sash that had _CHIEF_ emblazoned on the front. “The plan’s to stay in here and eat brown meat until we run out. Then I vote we eat the gnomes.”

The gnomes shouted angrily at this. “Grunkle Stan, we can’t all just hide inside the Shack. There’s a town in need of saving! Me and Ford tried to do it, but he got captured by Bill.”

“Serves that jerk right! My brother’s had some stupid plans, but going up against an all-powerful space demon was his worst one yet. He even dragged you into it. I thought you were dead.” Stan glowered. “Trust me. We have everything we need right here. It’s not the Ritz, but at least the monsters inside know how to massage.”

“So you’re just gonna let Bill win?” Dipper scowled.

“Look, kiddo. We’ve got a good deal here. Besides, I’m sure wherever the rest of the townsfolk are, they’re fine.” Stan said, but as he dropped his arm back into resting position, his hand slapped the remote. The TV blinked to life. The news was on. Dipper was shocked they were still broadcasting. Local news channels were _incredibly_ dedicated.

The newscaster looked a little worse for wear. Her normally perfect hair was partially burnt; bruises marred her pretty face. Her clothes were torn and scorched. “This is Shandra Jimenez reporting live from the inside of Bill’s castle. Here for the first time are images of what’s happened to the captured townsfolk.” The camera zoomed in tight on a large stone throne in the center of a dark ballroom, showing the stacked statues of all the townspeople. Their frozen expressions of terror made Dipper’s stomach turn. “Viewers are advised to look away if they don’t want to see their friends turned into a twisted throne of human agony.”

“Mom and Dad?” Pacifica gasped.

“My family!” Wendy cried.

“Deputy Durland!” Sheriff Blubs shouted.

“Is there no one who will save the people of this town? I’m Shandra Jimenez, and I’m being turned into stone by a flying eyeball.” The news abruptly cut off, leaving a hissing television and a black and white screen.

The townspeople gasped. “Oh, no. My parents are bad, but even _they_ don’t deserve to be turned into stone.” Pacifica said quietly.

Sheriff Blubs was in tears. He fell to his knees, pounding the floor. “Curse you, Bill! Why must you take everything we love?”

“Guys, don’t you see? Our friends need us, but we can only save them if we fight back!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Mabel is right, Bill wants us to run and hide. He _wants_ us to think he’d invincible. But Ford told me before he was captured that he knows Bill’s secret weakness.” Dipper told them. The townspeople took attention to that, murmuring and talking amongst themselves. “Now, if we band together, if we combine all of our strength, our smarts, our… whatever Tobey has… then we just might be able to rescue Ford, learn Bill’s weakness, and save Gravity Falls!”

The room erupted in cheering at the idea. But not everyone was so pleased. “Woah, woah, woah! Have you all forgotten who’s in charge here? Besides, we’re only safe inside! It’s not like we can take the Mystery Shack to Bill.”

McGucket began to shout incoherently as soon as Grunkle stan stopped speaking. Stomping his feet on the ground and waving his arms about. “Sorry, I got a little excited. What I meant to say is, I think I figured out a way to fight Bill and rescue Ford. But we’re all gonna have to work together!”

* * *

Inside the Fearamid, Ford was coming out of the golden shell like a flower blooming out of a frost. He blinked rapidly as he regained consciousness. He raised his fists defensively. “Let me go! You inside three-sided— Wha— What is this place?” Ford looked around at a living room, bathed in orange light from a roaring fireplace. All in all, it was a pleasant room. The tried to run for it, but was stopped by a chain around his ankle. There was piano music coming from an unknown source. Oh, God in heaven, he was _singing._

“We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when. Oh I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.” Bill rose from the floor, sitting in front of a grand piano, playing and singing and generally being an obnoxious asshole.

“Wh— Where am I?” Ford growled.

“You’re in the penthouse suite, kid! The tip of the pyramid! Have a drink. Make yourself comfortable.” Bill snapped his fingers and a glass of strange purple liquid appeared in Ford’s fingers. He was _not_ going to drink whatever the hell this was. He sat down begrudgingly on the couch behind him. It squished unpleasantly under his weight.

Bill took a luxurious sip from his own glass. “You know that couch is made from living human skin?” Bill said gleefully.

Ford looked down as saw an eye open on the armrest. A mouth opened and a tongue lolled out. That would explain the squish. Ford shouted in surprise and leapt off the couch immediately. “Quit the fames, Cipher! If I’m still alive, you must want something from me!”

“Ah, sharp as ever, Fordsy. As you may have noticed, I’ve recently had a multi-dimensional makeover!” He said, showing off his physical form. “I control space, matter, and now that that dumb baby’s out of the way, time itself! But I wasn’t always this way. You think those chains are tight? Imagine living in the second dimension— flat minds in a flat world with flat dreams. I liberated my dimension, Stanford, and I’m here to liberate yours. There’s just one hitch. As it turns out, my weirdness can’t escape the magical confines of this town! There’s something keeping me in.”

“Incredible!” Ford gasped. “Gravity Falls Natural Law of Weirdness Magnetism. I studied this years ago!”

“And did you find a way to undo it?” Bill asked.

“Of course! There’s a simple equation that could collapse the barrier. But I’d never tell you!”

“Listen, Ford. If you just tell me that equation, finally your dimension will be free! Anything will be possible! I’ll remake a fun world, a better world! A party that never ends with a host that never dies! No more restrictions! No more laws! You’d be one of us. All-powerful. Greater than anything you’ve imagined! And all I need is your help.” The demon promised.

“You’re insane if you think I’ll help you.” Ford growled. No more laws. The laws of nature kept reality together. Bill could tear their dimension to pieces if he had the chance. No more restrictions? He scoffed at the idea. He knew that was happening outside. Kidnappings, destruction, mayhem. The human race would be wiped out in a week. He could never doom the world like that.

Bill laughed aloud. “I’m insane either way, Brainiac! But have it your way! I’ll just fish around and get that equation directly out of your mind!”

He left his physical form to do so. “Not so fast!” Ford shouted. “You know the rules, Bill.”

Bill squinted and shrank back down to embody his physical form. “You may be able to haunt my dreams, but you can’t enter my mind unless I shake your hand and let you in.” He said smugly, wiggling his six fingers to taunt the demon.

Bill sighed. “You’re making this so much harder than it needs to be.” The chains reattached themselves around his ankles. One clasped around his neck, choking him. Ford strained and yelled, trying to pull the chain away with his hands. To no avail. “Everyone had a weakness, tough guy! I’ll make you talk! It’s only a matter of time!”

Ford screamed in fear as Bill approached.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The outlook for Gravity Falls is looking bleaker by the minute. What is Dipper going to do about it?

The next seven hours were grueling. With the help of all of their remaining friends they dragged scrap parts and steel away from the Gravity Falls junkyard. Rumble McSkirmish helped by pulverizing any demons that accosted them outside the walls of the Shack. Dipper got to see that Wendy’s skill with her crossbow was no joke. Everyone with opposable thumbs helped to assemble robotic parts. Everyone with hooves or tendrils helped by hauling parts. They assembled robotic arms, legs, and a power system to work it all in less than a day. With their combined efforts, the Shack was ready to fight a demon on behalf of the Falls.

Mabel gave them all apocalypse sweaters. Pacifica donned an alpaca sweater as they sat around the fire. Resting and recuperating before the monumental task ahead of them. “This is the best day of the end of the world.” Mabel said happily while Pacifica pouted in her comfortable sweater. “I think we actually have a chance to beat Bill and win back our future.”

“Yeah. Getting to actually live to see our 13th birthday party is the only birthday present I want right now.” Dipper said sadly.

“Hey, if we’re lucky enough to get there, I guarantee this whole town is gonna throw you the best birthday party you’ve ever seen.” Soos promised.

Dipper’s heart lightened considerably. “Thanks, Soos.” He said earnestly. “Hey, has anyone seen Grunkle Stan?”

Dipper and Mabel hopped off their logs to go see if they could find him. He was only a short distance away, griping like an old person to Shembulock. “Is something wrong, Grunkle Stan? You’re acting Grunklier than usual.” Mabel asked.

“It’s this darn plan to save my brother.” Grunkle Stan complained. “If you didn’t notice, I already saved him once from that portal, and he _never_ hasn’t thanked me. He causes the end of the world, and somehow it’s still always ‘Stan’s the screw-up, Ford’s the hero.’”

“Well maybe people think he’s a hero because he didn’t want to hide in the Mystery Shack.” Dipper said with his arms crossed.

“Well, maybe if he hid in the Mystery Shack, he wouldn’t have been captured!” Stan shouted.

“Guys! Guys! Trust me, tomorrow’s gonna be great. I believe in us!” Mabel said, hugging them around the neck. Soon after she ran off to help someone with their sweater.

The next day, as the sun rose over the misty peaks, the last of Gravity Falls gathered in their robot, ready to fight. McGucket stood at the front. “Alright, fellas. Let’s hope this turns out better than my other inventions!”

“Everybody ready?” Mabel asked. “Dipper, now!”

With a great grunt of effort, Dipper pulled the lever and started the machine. Cogs began to turn. The lights flickered on. Marbles rolled across the floor. The steam engine whistled. The whole Shack shook from side to side as it rose to its feet. The canvas fell away and the Shack was walking. It had worked. Everyone in the Shack was hollering in excitement and disbelief. With long strides, they were marching to the Fearamid.

Inside, Ford was screaming in pain. He jerked uncontrollably in his bonds, and he breathed the sickening smell of his own burning flesh. “No!” He shouted. He groaned and slumped in his chains as Bill paused in his torture.

“Ready to talk now?” He asked.

“I won’t.” Ford said in between gasps for breath. “I won’t let you into my mind.”

Bill seemed almost delighted by this answer. “Whatdya think, pals? Another 500 volts?” Before anyone could answer, they were interrupted by the Fearamid shaking. Dust fell from the ceiling. “Hey, do you hear that?”

Teeth jumped aside as one of the mech arms of the Mystery Shack came busting through the door. Their dinosaur arm roared and bared its teeth. “What?! I just fixed that door!” Bill shouted.

The mech stomped closer and pumped its arms, ready for battle. Bill sat back into his throne. “So the mortals are trying to fight back, huh? Adorable! Henchmaniacs, you know what to do!” His lesser demons grew tremendously in size, their eyes glowing a sinister red. “Take them out!”

Out of the destroyed doors the demons emerged. On their feet and ready to battle. “This was a bad idea.” Stan said from inside the Shack.

“Attack!” The female monster screamed. Soos scrambled inside the Shack.

“Everyone! Like we planned!” Dipper reminded them. “Three, two, one, go!”

Candy and Grenda controlled the robot’s arms, they threw mean punches. Mabel wielded the Shack’s cannon. It blasted bats out of the sky. Wendy rode an eyeball bat, blasting monsters as she pleased. The Shack shook with the force of a larger demon barreling into it, trying to knock it over. The Shack braced its knees and pushed back. Dipper manned the wheel, turning it wildly. Bill watched, immensely irritated, as his small militia of demons was defeated in a matter of minutes.

“Guys, seriously? You had, like, one job to do here.” He said, rubbing his one eye between his fingers in frustration.

“Bravo, Dipper and Mabel!” Ford said behind him.

Bill turned his knowing eye towards the scientist. “Well, would you look at that. Those kids really care about you. And you care about them. DON’T YOU.”

“What are you… oh… oh no.”

“Perhaps torturing those kids will make you talk!” The wide eye of the demon burned Ford as it bore down on him.

“No! No! Not the kids! You ca—” Ford’s begging was abruptly cut off as he was turned back into gold.

Bill cracked his enormous knuckles. “Let’s get this over with.”

Everyone in the Shack cried in fear as Bill began to crawl out of his Fearamid, large and angry and ready to fight them. “Guys! This is what we trained for! Hold steady!” Mabel assured them. They all held their stances as Bill raised one giant fist and wailed on the Shack. The ground shook around them, and they all gripped each other for support as they were plunged into darkness. But when Bill raised his fist to look at the damage, they were still standing.

“What the— No! No, no, no, no!” Bill’s screams grew louder and more furious as he went on. Eight more arms sprouted from the demon’s sides and he began to pummel the shack with all his terrible strength. But he couldn’t get past the barrier Ford created.

Stan screamed. But Mabel was brave. “Attack!” She ordered.

Grenda, wielding the robot’s arm, reached out and plucked the demon’s eyes straight out of his face. Bill screamed in pain. “My eye! Do you have any idea how long it takes to regenerate that?!”

“We’ve got him distracted!” Dipper realized. “Now’s our chance!”

“Rescue team, move out!” Mabel agreed.

Their small team of ragtag adventurers prepared in the tubes that would eject themselves from the safe confines of their house and into the air. Soaring with only Mabel’s homemade sweater parachutes to protect them from instant death. Dipper wasn’t sure if it would work. But they had no other options. “Okay, everyone! We get in, rescue Ford, get out, save the world. Piece of cake.” Dipper said, trying to sound assured.

“Just so we’re clear, if I die, I’m suing all of you.” Pacifica said with a scowl.

“Hey, on second thought, maybe we should come up with a plan that doesn’t involve us plummeting to our certain death?” Stan began. But Wendy cut him off at the end. “Now!” She shouted. And then they were flying. Every one of them screamed, and Dipper nearly soiled his pants. He released his parachute. Then they were floating into Bill’s headquarters. Making a safe landing on the floor inside. Dipper unclipped his parachute and stood on shaking legs. All of them gasped as they looked up to Bill’s throne of human suffering. “Oh, man. It looks even worse up close.”

Mabel didn’t wait. She used her grappling hook to soar to the top. Landing on the very seat of the throne. “I found great uncle Ford!” She shouted down to the rest of them. “He’s golden! But not in the good way!”

“Great.” Stan grouched. “Grab him and let’s get out of here.”

“But how are we going to unfreeze them?” Dipper asked.

“I know!” A familiar voice answered. They all tipped their heads up to look upon Gideon Gleeful, imprisoned in a small cage. He was doing a little jig, seemingly against his will.

“Gideon! What happened to you?” Mabel asked.

“Bill captured me. He’s been forcing me to do cute dances in this cage for all eternity.” He cried. Tears splattered on his chubby face as he began to sob. “I’m so tired of being cute!”

“How do we undo this?” Dipper asked desperately.

“Mayor Tyler. He’s the load-bearing human.” Gideon answered. “Pull him out and the whole thing goes down.”

Dipper did as he was told. As promised, the throne collapsed, releasing Gravity Falls. The citizens groaned as they attempted to collect themselves. “I think I’m dark and tortured for reals now.” Robbie said, horrified. Wendy put her arms around her family. Pacifica ran towards her parents. But none were so delighted as Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland. Blubs shoved everyone out of his way and pulled his partner into his arms.

“My Blubs!” Durland cried.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” Blubs buried his head into his partner’s shoulder. Everyone cheered, relieved to be rescued.

“Kids! You did it, I knew I could count on you!” Ford laughed in relief, pulling his niece and nephew into his arms.

“Listen, uncle Ford. We don’t have a lot of time.” Dipper said frantically. He glanced over his shoulder to see the Shack and Bill engaged in violent battle. Who knows how long their friends could hold up? It was go time. “Remember how you told me right before you were frozen that you knew Bill’s weakness?”

“I— I do!” Ford said. “Now, does anyone have a pen? Pencil? Anything? Ah.” Ford spotted a can of spray paint on the floor. “Perfect!”

Everyone waited with baited breath as Ford began to spray a circle onto the floor. Drawing strange symbols within. Dipper furrowed his brow. “Uh, we’ve got Bill outside, but I don’t know how long we can keep him occupied.”

“Yes, yes. Good. Good.” Ford said amicably. Clearly distracted.

“Drawing a circle on the floor.” Stan complained. “Well, he’s lost his mind.”

“My mind is fine. And there is a way to beat him. With this!”

He revealed a strange zodiac he had painted onto the floor. He explained how it was a power circuit that would need people to stand in, holding hands, in order to channel enough energy to defeat the demon. Dipper walked into the place of the pine tree. Mabel, the shooting star. Robbie fell into place with the bleeding heart. Soos, Gideon, Pacifica, McGucket. Everyone began to walk into place.

Outside, the situation was becoming dire. Bill was knocked onto his back, and the Shack climbed on top. Bill was holding it off, when he noticed that the force field didn’t extend down to the legs. He scowled, wrapping one huge hand around the bottom. “Hey, Achilles! Nice job with the heel!” He knocked the Shack back and used his strength to tear away the leg. Everyone inside the shack screamed in alarm as Bill drew the leg back. “Fore!” He hit the Shack in the side as one would a golf ball, sending it flying and tumbling.

Ford heard the commotion outside. “Hold hands everyone! This is a mystical human energy circuit.” Wendy took Soos and Dipper’s hands. “Yes! This is it! Now we just need one more person.”

He looked over. Stan’s fez. “Stanley, Stanley, get over here! You’re the only one left!”

“You realize this is a bunch of hogwash, right? You really think this caveman graffiti is gonna stop that monster?” Stan griped.

“Dang it old man, now’s not the time!” Gideon screamed.

“Come on!” Wendy shouted.

“Woah. Hey, I’m not the enemy here, people.” Stan said angrily. He pointed at his brother. “Don’t forget who literally created the end of the world.”

“I’m sorry, Stanley. I know. Just help me fix it! Please!”

“Fine. Just do one thing. Say ‘thank you.’”

“What?”

“I spent thirty years trying to bring you back into this dimension. And you still haven’t thanked me! You want me to shake your hand? Say ‘thank you.’”

Ford looked up in frustration. “Fine. Thank you.”

Stan took his brothers had. “Now, see? Between me and him, I’m not always the bad twin.”

“Between ‘him and me.’” Ford corrected.

Everyone looked dumbfounded at Ford’s petty behavior. It was the end of the world. Couldn’t they stop fighting for one moment? “Grammar, Stanley.” Ford said.

“I’ll ‘Grammar, Stanley’ YOU, you stuck up son of a—"

They devolved into arguments, letting go of each other’s hands to strangle one another. “Guys, stop it!” Mabel cried. Everyone ran forward, attempting to break the two of them up. But it was too late. They were cast in the shadow of the rising demon. He was twirling the Shack’s totem pole in one hand, rolling his enormous eye at them.

“ _Oh no, it’s Bill!_ Right? Isn’t that what you’re all thinking?” He began to laugh at them. “This is just too perfect! Didn’t you brainiacs know the zodiac doesn’t work if you don’t hold hands?” Everyone began to step away from the approaching demon in fear. “And what’s better, you’ve brought every threat to my power together in one easy to destroy CIRCLE.” He blasted out a wave of flames, burning away the zodiac on the floor.

Ropes bound Stan and Ford, lifting them into the air. They struggled fruitlessly. “You guys wanna see what happens to your friends when you can’t get along?”

“You give them back!” Their friends began to protest. “Yeah! We’re not scared of you!” They began to draw their weapons.

“Oh, but you should be.” The demon snapped his fingers. All at once their eyes began to roll up into their heads. They were empty shells, and with another snap of his fingers, Bill arranged them as tapestries on his wall. Dipper and Mabel clutched their faces in horror. “Looks like it’s too late for your friends, Stanford! But you can still save your family!” Bill erected a cage around Dipper and Mabel, trapping them in. “Last chance: tell me how to take Weirdmageddon global and I’ll spare the kids!”

“No! Don’t do it!” Dipper pleaded.

“Yeah!” Mabel agreed. “Bill makes bad deals!”

Bill turned to the trapped children. “Don’t you toy with me, Shooting Star! I see everything!” Mabel didn’t listen for a moment. She sprayed paint directly in his eye. Bill howled and clutched his face in pain. Stan and Ford fell to the floor, their ropes gone.

Dipper used the heightlight to grow their cage until they could easily slip between the bars. Him and his sister escaped easily. “Save yourselves, run! We’ll take care of Bill!”

“What?! That’s a suicide mission!” Ford said.

Dipper shook his head. “Trust us. We’ve beat him before…” “And we’ll beat him again!” Mabel finished. With that, the two children began to run. “Hey, Bill, come and get us you pointy jerk!”

Bill roared in his rage. “What? No! It’s too dangerous!” Ford and Stan tried to run after their children, but were stopped by the infuriated demon. He held them to the wall in a choke hold.

“Not so fast! You two wait here!” He erected another cage, this time around the older Pines twins before transforming. Becoming red and angry and supernaturally large. Tongues lolled out between gaping, toothy jaws and his eye was nearly completely black, glowing orange along his pupil. “I’ve got some children I need to make into corpses! _See ya real soon!_ ”

Ford and Stan screamed in protest as Bill ran after their children, and Ford beat on the cage. “KIDS!”

* * *

Their head start didn’t last long. Enraged roaring echoed down the halls. The walls shook and soon Bill was dragging himself after them through the halls. For something so large he moved too fast. He was on eight legs like a spider. Dipper and Mabel gasped for air, running as Bill destroyed columns and obstacles in his way. All his focus was on the children. “When I get my hands on you kids, I’m gonna disassemble your molecules!” He threatened. Dipper turned a corner. It took Bill a moment to turn, and they looked up at their escape. Mabel grabbed her brother and used her grappling hook. “ _You’ve tricked me for the last time!_ ” They screamed as the monster came after them.

* * *

In Bill’s throne room, Stan was shaking with guilt. “Oh! I can’t believe this! The kids are gonna die and it’s all my fault—because I couldn’t shake your stupid hand!” Stan fell to his knees, grieving and guilty. “Dad was right about me. I _am_ a screw-up.”

“Ah, don’t blame yourself.” Ford said. “I’m the one who made a deal with Bill in the first place. I fell for all his easy flattery. You would have seen him for the scam artist he is.” He handed Stan his flask and sat beside his brother.

“How did things get so messed up between us?” Stan pondered.

“We used to be like Dipper and Mabel.” Ford remembered. “The world’s about to end and they still work together. How do they do it?”

“Easy. They’re kids. They don’t know any better.” Ford stood up, and Stan grabbed his brother’s arm. “Woah, where’re you going?”

“I’m going to play the only card we have left.” Ford admitted. “Let Bill into my mind. He’ll be able to take over the galaxy, and maybe even worse, but at least he _might_ let the kids free.”

“What?! Are you kidding me? Are you honestly telling me there’s nothing else we can do?!”

“Bill’s only weak in the mindspace.” Ford reminded him. “If I didn’t have this darn plate in my head we could just erase him with the memory gun when he steps inside my mind.”

Stan considered that. “What if he goes into my mind? My brain isn’t good for anything.”

Ford chuckled. “There’s nothing in your mind he wants. It _has_ to be me. We need to take his deal. It’s the only way he’ll agree to save you and the kids.”

“Do ya really think he’s gonna make good on that deal?” Stan asked.

Ford hung his head helplessly. “What other choice do we have?”

* * *

Dipper and Mabel were still running. It was a miracle they hadn’t been caught yet. They’d twisted through what seemed like endless triangular halls but still hadn’t found any kind of exit. Or even a window they could leave through. Until they came to a wall. A dead end. They gasped at the sight. “Ya know, I’m starting to think there’s no way outta here.” Dipper breathed.

“Like Grunkle Stan always says, when one door closes, choose a nearby wall and bash it in with brute force!” Mabel said. She grabbed the heightlight and used it to grow her hand disproportionately. Then she made good on her promise and knocked down the wall blocking their way.

“Ha! Now let’s round up the townsfolk, and together we can defeat—Oh no!”

They were confronted with the noxious gas of the outside. Smoke filled Dipper’s lungs. He looked down to see his friends had been caught. The townspeople were huddled between Bill’s henchmaniacs, surrounded. They were trapped.

“You’ll never take us alive, monsters!” Grenda said.

“That’s fine with us!” Teeth admitted. With that he gobbled up one gnome. The rest of the townsfolk screamed in terror.

“Oh no…” Dipper said. Before they could do anything, they were trapped in the magical force of Bill Cipher.

“Peekaboo!” He said mockingly. Dipper and Mabel screamed as they were lifted. The demon was immensely satisfied in catching the children, and hastily made his way back to his other set of trapped twins. Still in the cage he left them in. “Alright, Ford. Time’s up! I’ve got the kids!” He showed off the struggling children to their guardians. Ford and Stan looked up, gripping the bars of their cage tight when they saw the kids.

“I think I’m gonna kill one of them now just for the heck of it!” Bill threatened. And he started to choose. Dipper and Mabel struggled harder, pushing at Bill’s fingers and wiggling for any hope of escape. They cried and kicked their feet. But the demon’s grip was too tight. “Eenie, meenie, miney…”

Dipper grabbed ahold of his sister and threw the weight of his body back against Bill’s knuckles, trying to knock them loose. His hat fell off with the force, and his hair fell out of his face. Bill raised his fingers, ready to kill them. But he paused unexpectedly. Dipper looked up. He hadn’t done anything. And Grunkle Stan and Ford hadn’t offered anything yet. What made him stop? He looked up. Bill’s enormous eye was fixed upon his exposed forehead.

“Wh—what?” Dipper asked nervously.

The demon didn’t answer. Instead he began to laugh. And laugh. Growing louder and more hysterical as he continued. Dipper’s blood seemed to freeze in his core. “Looks like Pine Tree has been keeping another secret from me!” Bill giggled. “Why didn’t you tell me about your soul mark?”

Dipper was _really_ confused now. What the heck was he talking about? “You mean my birthmark?”

Bill suddenly dropped Mabel, uninterested in the second twin. But he kept Dipper to himself. “This was no measly accident of birth.” Bill sneered. “You bear the mark of the Ursa Major.”

“The Big Dipper, yeah.” Dipper said, dazed. “That’s how I got my stupid nickname. It’s a really weird birthmark. But not important, right?”

“ _Au contraire,_ mortal.” Bill said. He then lifted the enchantment that obscured his own soul mark. Revealing a glittering golden Ursa Major etched into his arm. “You bear _my_ mark. I’ve carried this since before the stars that form the constellation came into existence. You are my soulmate.”

There was a gasp. But it wasn’t from Mabel, Stan, or even Dipper. It was Ford. He threw off the fez, removing the disguise of his brother and ditching the plan completely. “No! No, he’s a boy! Give him back, please. I’ll let you into my mind. I’ll give you anything you want!”

Stan couldn’t believe his brother was ditching their disguises. This had to be a joke. Another trick of Bill. There was no such thing as a soulmate. It was completely absurd. That was a thing teenagers said about their one-month relationships. But Ford was taking this _very_ seriously. “Cipher, let’s be reasonable. He’s a child. You can’t possibly—”

“You are all children to me!” Bill roared. “I outdate your puny galaxy! This kid belongs to me and I plan to claim my right!”

“You can’t force him to bond with you!” Ford shouted. “He’s not so easily tricked!”

Bill considered that, looking down at his little soulmate. Dipper was lolling in his head, blinking heavily. Bill gave him a deeper look with his eye. The kid was pretty heavily injured. Several head injuries, broken ribs, deep bruises and internal bleeding. It was amazing that the kid was still standing. He had a warrior’s constitution. But even warriors fell in battle, and this kid had a hard week. Thinking about it, Ford was right. This kid wasn’t so easily tricked. He himself had said earlier that it would take a will of titanium not to fall prey to the temptations of the prison bubble he had constructed for Mabel. It was devious, powerful magic. But Dipper had never once given into anything the bubble offered him. He had thwarted Bill again and again, and even after all these injuries, he still managed to run from him for quite a while. Bill had to admit that he was impressed. His soulmate was of very high quality.

However, there were annoying parts about him. His moralistic outlook on life, his selflessness, and care for his friends. It would be pretty hard to get Dipper to bond with him if the kid knew he was still torturing the puny little townspeople. That gave him an idea, though. A way to make Dipper stay with him.

He prodded his soulmate awake. “Hey, kid. I’ll make you a deal. A good one, you’re gonna like this.” Bill said. “If you agree to stay with me forever, I will reverse Weirdmaggedon. I’ll fix all the buildings, fix all injuries, put everything back to normal. Your family will go back to live in the Shack like they were before. Everyone will be safe. All you have to do is stay with me.”

Dipper blinked, processing the words. That was… too good to be true. Why did Bill want Dipper so bad anyway? It made no sense. Ford was pounding on the cage furiously behind him. Screaming obscenities and pleas at the demon holding him. Stan was trying to calm his brother down. The townspeople outside were about to be eaten by demons. Mabel was struggling to stand from where she had fallen.

“Mabel… she’ll be okay?” Dipper asked timidly.

“Everyone. I promised, kid.”

“No! Dipper!” Mabel cried, and there were tears glittering on her face. Dipper sighed. He couldn’t help it. It was his sister. If everyone could be safe, like Bill promised, what did it matter what happened to him?

“I set out to save my sister.” He told Bill. “And I intend to make good on that.” He reached his hand out to the demon. “It’s a deal.”

His family was screaming. Bill took his hand. The blue flames raced up his arm. A wave of normal rushed out over Gravity Falls, and everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ends the summary of Weirdmaggedon! Here comes the story! Poor, brave Dipper. Too self-sacrificing. We'll check up on him next chapter


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaah. Plot! My favorite. Here we go! It's time to set the stage

Light filtered in through a dusty window, casting a warm glow on the colorful posters on the wall. Two beds lined opposite walls, but only one was occupied. Mabel Pines blinked to life, sitting up in a daze. Her brown hair fell over her shoulders. When she looked down at her hands, they were the same as they had always been. Chipped polish, remnants of craft glue crusted around her nail beds, glitter in odd creases. No bruises. No burns or cuts. She gasped, remembering where she had been last. Remembering her brother making a deal with the devil.

She screamed. Bolting out of bed and looking around frantically. Everything was in its proper place. The walls, the knickknacks and stuffed animals. Everything was as it had always been. Maybe it was a nightmare? Was she imagining things? She ran out of her room, frantic to find her brother.

Stan and Ford were also waking up. Ford sprawled on the living room carpet, Stan in his armchair. Both in their proper clothes, like they had never changed them. They were also shocked at the normalcy of their environment. The Mystery Shack was the same as it had been before. Mold on the ceiling, the carpet unvacuumed, unwashed dishes in the sink, a soda ready and waiting on the side table. Stan looked down at himself and realized he was shaking. Where was his nephew? Where was Mabel? He stood on shaking legs and nearly tripped over his brother.

Ford sat up; his mouth stretched on a silent scream. He gripped his chest where his heart hammered against it. Horror. Panic. Dipper was gone. All hope was lost.

Mabel rushed into the living room. Her face was wet with tears. “Where is my brother?!” She shouted. “Grunkle Stan, he’s not gone! He can’t be gone!”

Stan grabbed his niece in a crushing hug. He was still shaking. “I can’t believe it.” He said quietly. “Ford, what just happened.”

“This is impossible!” Ford was talking to himself, gripping his head in his hands. “Soulmates are so rare. I didn’t think they even _existed._ Thought it was just some myth made up by cavemen and witches.”

“What do you know about this you sick bastard?!” Stan screamed at his brother.

Ford shook his head in disbelief. “We’re in trouble. Dipper is in danger. We may have no hope left.”

Before Stan could ask his brother even more questions, there were people hammering on the front door. Outside there was shouting and clamoring. Stan stumbled over to the door and opened it. Outside, the whole town was gathered. All the citizens, the magical creatures, several animals. All asking questions. Soos and Wendy elbowed their way to the front.

“Mr. Pines! Thank goodness you’re alright. Where is Dipper?” Soos asked.

Mabel howled at the mention of her brother, burying her face into her Grunkle’s shoulder. Stan gripped her tight. “We don’t know.” He said honestly.

“Where is Ford?! He should have the answers!” Gideon demanded.

“He _should._ ” Stan agreed with a deep scowl. “Come on! Get out here. You’ve got explaining to do.”

Ford did as he was told, walking out onto the porch. Immediately everyone was shouting their questions once again. It was chaos. What happened? Where is Bill? Why has the town gone back to normal? Have we won? But there was one repeated question that rose above the din. _Where is Dipper?_ Ford held his hand up, calling for silence, and quiet fell over the crowd. They waited eagerly for answers.

“Dipper has… Dipper made a deal to save Gravity Falls.” Ford started. He waited for the collective outrage and shouting to die after his announcement. “Bill decided that he would spare Gravity Falls if he could take ownership over Dipper.”

It was chaos once again. Many people were crying. Some people were yelling and angry. Others stuck in morose silence. Several people leaned into each other’s shoulders for support. Mabel whimpered quietly. Wendy scowled. “ _Why?_ ”

Ford paused. He wasn’t exactly sure how to explain this part. He didn’t understand it entirely himself. But what he did know was bad news. “Bill believes… that Dipper is his soulmate.”

There was no screaming or crying now. Just stunned silence. There was a moment where nobody said anything. Flies buzzed and cicadas sang in the trees, and Gravity Falls held its breath for a moment. Pacifica was the first to speak. “Uh, what the heck does that mean? That’s impossible. Do demons even have souls?”

“They do. All sentient beings do, animals, demons, humans.” Ford explained. “Soulmates are… well they’re incredibly rare. I believed they were myth or conjecture. But Bill had the same mark Dipper had. It’s… rather unusual. How many of you were aware of Dipper’s birthmark?”

Wendy raised her hand, but nobody else. Ford decided he should just explain. “It’s the Big Dipper. The constellation. He said it’s how he got his nickname.” Most people seemed surprised at this news. So, it seems Dipper wore that hat to keep it a secret. Maybe he’d been bullied for it? “It’s _not_ a birthmark. I think Bill may actually be correct. It’s a soul mark. Bill shares the mark. And from what I know of soulmates, this is incredibly bad news.”

“Why?” Bud Gleeful asked. “He put the town back to normal.”

“Because now Bill has his hands on the other half of his soul.” Ford said. “You think Bill was powerful before? His power is _half_ what it could have been. By uniting and bonding with his soulmate, he has the potential to double his strength. Before our only leverage was that Bill couldn’t escape the magical barrier of this town. If he gains the powers of his soulmate, he could collapse the barrier easily. He could destroy the world in a day.”

Again, there was noise. Panicked shouting and crying. “Why did he make such a bad deal?!” Gideon shouted. “That idiot!”

“He wasn’t aware that he was the key to Bill’s domination of our universe. Bill doesn’t exactly give information freely.” Ford scolded. “What he knew was that he was offered the chance to save the town and his sister and he took it. He sacrificed himself for us. For all of us.”

“Is he going to be alright?” Wendy asked. She was wringing her hat in her hands.

Ford sighed. Here was the part he didn’t know. “I’m not sure. I know Bill can’t kill him. If he were to kill his soulmate, he would lose his other half. Maybe forever. He couldn’t hurt him too badly. I’m not sure how long Bill will be gone. A bond isn’t something that can just be done by a demon deal. There are requirements.” Ford ran a six fingered hand over his face, trying to remember what he’d heard. “You have to get to know each other intimately, and share with each other your whole beings. Then you have to… uh…” He flushed and turned his head away from his family. “Consummate the bond.”

“Are you telling me that you let my nephew be taken by an evil demon who wants to _fuck him?_ ” Stan growled, setting Mabel down and rolling up his sleeves.

“Stanley please! There are children—”

“You sick son of a bitch! I’ll never forgive you! Get my fucking kid back or I’m gonna—” Stanley shouted as he grabbed the front of his brother’s jacket. Ford leaned back and let his brother hit him. Frankly he felt he deserved it. His brother was right. He should have never dragged Dipper into this kind of danger. He was blinded by his own pride, his care for the boy, and took him to places children didn’t belong. Now he was gone maybe forever. It was on his hands.

“Guys, stop it!” Wendy shouted, shoving herself between the men. “This kind of fighting stopped us from defeating him in the first place! Because you couldn’t hold hands in the zodiac! Think about Mabel.” They turned, but she was already gone.

“Mabel? Mabel!” Stan called. But she didn’t reappear. Wendy scowled at her boss.

“Get a grip, man! She already lost her brother. She needs you two to be dependable right now.” She scolded, and the men shrank before the teenager like children being scolded. “You support her, and make a plan to get. Dipper. Back. Do you think he’s in the Fearamid?”

Ford squinted into the sunny sky. Over the treetops he could see that the rift still hung in the sky, and the Fearamid floated below it. The only physical proof Bill had visited at all. Ford frowned while he considered. “It’s possible. Bill is most powerful in the mindspace, but I’m not sure if he can drag physical forms into other dimensions. It’s likely Dipper’s body is still in our world. But the Fearamid may have been reinforced through magic or other means. We already invaded his domain once; he’ll have learned from that. Without knowing and testing it’s bounds it will be impossible to know. I’m not sure if it’s even possible to enter anymore.”

“Well, figure it out.” Wendy snarled. “Dipper gave up _everything_ for us. I’m not resting until he’s safe. What are we going to tell his parents?”

Stan gasped. “I forgot. They’re supposed to go home soon. I was supposed to look after them!”

Ford chewed his lip. This was getting more difficult by the second. He had never met the Pines parents, but he imagined they would be furious. If someone lost _his_ son he would be less than gracious. To say the least. He rested his face in his hands. “Alright. We’ll call them. We just… need to figure out what to say. You all need to go home.”

The citizens of Gravity Falls looked _less_ than pleased. “Tell us if there’s anything we can do. When you come up with a plan.” Sheriff Blubs said, tipping his hat. Slowly, people began to filter out of their yard, disappearing down the road and into the woods. Stan and Ford were left standing on their porch with Soos and Wendy. The air was heavy without the presence of the youngest Pines twins. Soos looked down.

“I’ll go find Mabel.” He said quietly. And with that Soos turned back into the Shack. Wendy didn’t say anything. Just stormed off into the woods. Ford sat down on the step, looking up at the Fearamid looming in the sky. He couldn’t see any scenario where Dipper was safe and happy in the end.

_Please, Bill. Prove me wrong._

* * *

Dipper rolled over, feeling something soft beneath him. He mumbled something, but wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. Why was he asleep? He tried to remember. Bill. He caught them. So maybe he was dead? No… He remembered his sister. Bill dropped her, and promised to let her go. Dipper… made a deal…

He sat up with a sharp intake of breath, hyperventilating. He was alive! Did Bill make good on his promise? He looked down at himself, and gasped at what he saw.

He wasn’t injured. Which was _not_ the case when he was last awake. He was also wearing entirely different clothes. Gone were the basketball shorts, t-shirt, and vest. Dipper was looking down at a thin, long sleeve sweater, knit with pine green yarn. He wore tight black pants. Were these leggings? They were comfortable, stretchy fabric. Dipper flushed furiously at the idea of Bill Cipher _dressing him._

“Bill!” He tried to shout angrily, but it came out hoarse and weak. His mouth was so dry. He coughed uncontrollably as the demon appeared before him.

“Ah, the Pine Tree’s awake! Woah, hey. Here’s some water.” He offered a glass, which Dipper pushed away, kneeling over and falling off of the surface he’d been laying on. He continued to cough on the floor. “Take the water, kid. I didn’t do anything to it. Why would I spike your water when I could just kill you or chain you down as I please?”

Dipper considered that, and then snatched the water, drinking eagerly. He pulled away, gasping for air once the glass was empty. “ _Where are my clothes?_ ”

“Oh, those shabby things? Gone. Come on, Pine Tree. I’ve seen you in the same shorts all summer. Do you wash those things?” Dipper was about to tell him off, but he came to a pause, stuttering and failing on his words when he saw the demon who was keeping him prisoner.

Gone was the triangle. Instead stood a tall young man. He had the big, golden eye that marked all bodies possessed by Bill Cipher. But other than that, he looked relatively normal. The body he inhabited was about Wendy’s age. With dark tanned skin and long, lanky limbs. He was dressed in mostly black, a sleek little suit, sans a bright yellow vest. One of his eye sockets was empty, a gaping black hole. Dipper scoffed. He had _frosted tips._ What kind of demon had frosted tips? But he had to admit, to himself and no one else, that he looked very handsome. His raised eyebrows and thin, upturned nose leant itself to an elfish sort of appearance. His rakish grin reminded Dipper of the best kind of mischief.

“Did you kidnap that person?”

“Nope! This meat suit is a puppet of my own invention.” Bill said. He showed off the glittering golden soul mark on his forearm. “My other puppets don’t have this. All my physical forms have it.”

Dipper frowned. Right. The soulmates thing. “You were being serious about that?”

“You wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” Bill said lightly.

“I didn’t think demons _had_ souls.” Dipper emphasized.

“Oh, baby doll. It’s not a soul I lack. It’s a heart. Or it was before I made myself this swanky new meat suit.” Dipper blushed and scowled at the nickname. He took this chance to look around the room.

It looked very much like a living room. A very opulent one. A roaring, ornate fireplace roared in the center of one of the walls. Over that hung an oil painting in a gilded frame, depicting Bill’s triangular form with a crown and scepter. He rolled his eyes at that. A fancy run with an eye and several triangular accents laid in front of the warm fire. A grandfather clock with accents that resembled horns and teeth stood in one corner. A grand piano was close to the couch. There was an armchair and a couch as well. Dipper reeled looking at the couch he’d been sleeping on.

“Is this made of human flesh?!” Dipper yelled.

“Ah, yes! You recognized sooner than your uncle. Good eye.” Cipher said with a wink.

“Did you make me _sleep_ on that?!” Dipper retched. “Oh, god, please just let me sleep on the floor.”

“Alright, alright. Jeez. I’ll change it.” With a snap of his fingers, the couch was replaced with an opulent velvet piece instead. Dipper narrowed his eyes. Why was the demon following his requests? Was this about the soulmates thing?

“You weren’t kidding.” Dipper decided. “I’m your soulmate.”

“Bingo! Now all we need to do is get to know each other. Having a mate is very serious business.” But the grin with which Bill said it led Dipper to believe it wasn’t. Or, at least, he was deceiving him in some way. But about what? He was a demon. He was probably lying about almost everything. Where to start?

“What does… being your soulmate entail?” Dipper asked. “If shaking your hand was all there was to it, you wouldn’t be trying to please me.”

Bill’s smile grew at the question. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly Dipper found himself sitting on the couch, a turkey sandwich in one hand and a cup of hot tea in the other. “Well, it’s as I said. We need to get to know each other. I need to know you in every way. This includes your personality and your spirit. Then we form the Bond.”

“‘The Bond.’” Dipper repeated. “Alright. So. We’re soulmates. Let’s say that’s true. How did that happen? Why do we need to bond?”

“Another good question. Well the reason we’re soulmates is because we share a soul. You’ve heard about the Big Bang, I’m assuming.” Dipper nodded, confused as to why this was relevant. “Well when the Bang happened, everything split at the point of existence. And everything that would ever be anything was sent flying across the virgin universe. That includes the matter that made up souls. There’s a certain element of destiny here, and the soul pieces usually found each other no problem. But that wasn’t always the case. Sometimes the souls came out half formed or attached to other matter. Our souls are literally two halves of a whole. Wonder why your soul mark is the Ursa Major? The rest of your soul is filled in with other substances. Stardust. The elements that make up the rest of your soul are also present in the stars that make up the constellation.”

Dipper’s mouth dropped open in surprise. That was a _lot_ of information. “Is your soul also made of stars?”

“Yeah. I’ve had pieces of the Ursa Major long before they settled themselves in your galaxy.” Bill summoned a long-stemmed glass filled with an unknown purple liquid. He took an indulgent sip.

Dipper had about a million other questions. Why hadn’t he heard of soulmates before? Why did an immortal demon end up with a human kid for a soulmate? What element of destiny was he talking about? How much of this was destiny and how much was chance? Was he destined to have Bill be his soulmate? Or could his soul have settled into any old body? Where was he, anyway? But one question came above all others.

“Is my sister safe?” He asked.

Bill rolled his eye. “Ugh. Kid. I shook your hand and made a deal. The whole town is good as new! Want to take a peek?”

He blinked, and there was a projection from his golden eye. Indeed, the Falls was back to the way it was before. The Shack stood undisturbed. No robot parts, no damage, no indication anything had happened at all. Bill showed them their room. Indeed, Mabel was laid in bed asleep. Sprawled out over her duvet, and Dipper was relieved to see no injuries. “Ford and Stan?”

“Everyone!” Bill repeated, annoyed. But he showed the elder Pines twins. They too were safe.

“Wendy…?” Dipper asked quietly. Bill furrowed his brow. Wasn’t that ice? From the zodiac? The redhead teenage girl Dipper had spent his summer fawning over. Despite the fact that Bill had no romantic interest in his soulmate, his stomach roiled with the ugly anger of jealousy.

“Why don’t you believe me?” He asked instead of showing the kid his crush.

“You haven’t always made good on deals. You used my body as a puppet and destroyed a laptop when I wanted you to help me open it.” Dipper reminded him. Bill remembered that. That was fun. Not great for building a relationship, but fun at the time. But actually, there were quite a few times he’d betrayed the trust of his soulmate. Oy. This bonding thing was going to be hard.

“Ah. Yes.” Bill said. He didn’t apologize. He didn’t mean it. He’d hold off on groveling to the human until absolutely necessary. He couldn’t believe this kid was the key to his universal domination. And the soul mark had been on his _face_ all along. He’d inhabited the kid’s body and he never found the soul mark? He had to rethink his priorities going forward.

“Well, kid. Eat up. We’ve got a long, long time to get to know each other.” Bill said with a grin. “Are you ready for your next big adventure?”

Dipper groaned. This was going to be his worst adventure yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing this, like, really fast. This fic is keeping me alive during the quarantine. It's not as popular as other fics I've written, but honestly? I'm very proud of this! I hope you guys like it because I am in love with this story


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill learns more about humans and takes his first steps into bonding with his soulmate. The Pines family struggles with their loss

Dipper had only been in Bill’s living room for a few days, and he thought he might already be going mad. He’d spent his whole summer in the woods. In the lush, untouched forests of Gravity Falls, where the air was sweet and the sun was warm. Now he was trapped in a cold, dark room with no windows or plants. He was cut off from nature abruptly with no relief. Dipper couldn’t remember a single day prior to this craziness he hadn’t been outside. He huddled himself on the couch and quietly fell into depression.

Bill, however, was quite familiar with the symptoms of human madness. He recognized the lethargy of someone who was giving up. He frowned to himself. Why was his human wilting? He was feeding and watering him regularly, gave him a comfortable place to lay down, and hadn’t tortured him even _once._ Was this more of that infernal _homesickness?_ An apparent illness with no measurable physical symptoms. Humans, evidently, had many of those. He approached his human.

“Alright, Pine Tree. What’s the sitch? You’re looking particularly gray today.” Bill asked.

“I think I’m getting seasonal depression.” Dipper explained. “Humans get sick if they aren’t exposed to sunlight.”

Bill narrowed his eyes. “What? Why?”

Dipper shrugged. “There’s multiple reasons. A lack of vitamin D, but also, we need exposure to the daylight to keep a proper circadian rhythm. Exposure to sunshine lowers our stress levels and keeps us sane. Exposure to plants also lowers stress levels.”

Bill considered this. He wasn’t sure why humans would need the sun other than to grow their crops, but Dipper had no real reason to deceive him. “So, you have sunshine madness.” He summarized in the only way he could understand. “Who knew that humans could go insane without exposure to their environment?”

“Aren’t you like, an expert in human insanity?” Dipper asked.

“You know, Pine Tree. There are much quicker and easier ways to drive humans crazy than to lock them in a dark room for a while.” Bill said matter of factly.

“Maybe for you. But for humans? Isolation is the easiest way to break us.” Dipper said. “Prisoners are often put into isolation as punishment, and it’s considered a form of torture. You can hallucinate and lose your sanity very quickly without exposure to sunlight and socialization.”

Bill hummed. Who knew? He usually just showed them incomprehensible hallucinations until their brains could no longer perceive reality. “Is this why you experience your human homesickness?”

“No. That’s a separate thing. I would experience loneliness from not seeing my friends. I would miss them.” Dipper sighed. “And I do.”

The demon restrained himself from any apathetic or sarcastic comments. Pine Tree didn’t seem to like when he made light of his suffering. “Well. I can’t do anything about that.” Dipper gave him a dirty look but said nothing. “However, I can create a window for you. Maybe some indoor plant receptacles.”

Dipper now sat up, a curious glitter in his eye. “A window? Like, the illusion of a window or one with real sunlight?”

“A real window to the outside world. You aren’t in some kind of illusion. This is the tip of the Fearamid.” Bill explained. “You’re sitting about four miles above Gravity Falls right now.”

Dipper’s eyes widened. “Yes! I’d love a window!”

Bill snapped his fingers. A window appeared on the wall behind the couch. A triangular window with stained glass accents, throwing little golden and green spots of light against the walls. Dipper pressed his face and hands against the windows, looking out on his town.

Gravity Falls was indeed back to normal, and it looked strange seeing it from this high up. It was kind of like being in an airplane. He saw the little cars driving on the streets. He saw the rooftops, and he could discern which buildings were which because of his experience living there. He saw the Mystery Shack in the distance, a tiny little dot in the trees. He pressed his nose against the window, and made a small noise of longing in his throat.

Bill kicked back and waited for the kid to settle down. While he was busy pining over his home, he considered what plants to set up. Some plants were poisonous to humans, but there were plenty that humans kept in their houses. Should he do the leafy green plants or some flowers? He never had to worry about them dying. He decided on some pots of English ivy and peace lilies. When he looked into the houses of Gravity Falls it seemed to be the two most popular choices.

Dipper sighed against the window, his breath quickly fogging the glass. He was grateful to see Gravity Falls back to normal. Whatever normal had been in Gravity Falls to begin with. Even if he wanted to be on the ground, he was just glad his sacrifice meant something.

He wondered what Mabel was doing right about now.

* * *

“Shouldn’t we tell them the truth?” Ford said. “There’s no reasonable way to say ‘I lost your son.’”

“There’s a more reasonable way than ‘demon kidnapping.’” Stan snapped. “They’re going to be storming down here one way or another. They’re probably going to take Mabel from us.”

“Mabel won’t go anywhere without her brother.” Ford said, and even if he wasn’t sure about anything else, he was certain about this. Mabel had changed. She was listless, isolating herself into her bedroom and making no noise. Barely moving. Never leaving. She barely ate. Stan and Ford tried everything to appease her. But she even turned away cake and strawberry lemonade. She would never leave Gravity Falls without Dipper at her side.

“That may not be her choice. They’re still her parents.” Stan snarled at himself. “I can’t believe he’s gone. He’s in the hands of some demon who wants to use him to end the Earth!”

“He won’t finish the Bond.” Ford tried to assure himself more than Stan. “Dipper is a twelve-year-old boy—”

“Thirteen.” Said a small voice. Stan and Ford jumped, whipping around to look at their niece. She was wasting away. She was wearing her shooting star sweater, which she hadn’t taken off since returning to the Mystery Shack. Her hair was unwashed and greasy. There were dark bags under her eyes. “We turned thirteen today.”

Stan winced at the realization he’d forgotten his niece’s birthday. But Mabel didn’t even seem to care. Her eyes glassy with tears. “I’ve never spent a birthday without him.” She told them. Her voice shook dangerously on every word. Stan and Ford rushed forward together, totally forgetting their argument and pulling their great niece into their arms together.

“We’re going to get him back.” Stan promised. “You’ll never spend another birthday apart ever again.”

Mabel shook her head. “You can’t promise that.”

Stan squeezed her tighter. He knew that. He knew it was probably cruel to say that. But he couldn’t look at her like this anymore. It was killing him every time she cried. He couldn’t sleep in his bed at night hearing her bed creak while she tossed and turned restlessly in the other room. “I can. I promised myself that I’d get my brother back, and I did. I can get yours back too.”

“It took you thirty years.” Mabel said, and her voice was breaking now.

“It just means I had a lot of practice.” Stan said. “Now I’m an expert in brother retrieval. Dipper won’t be gone forever.”

Mabel wasn’t assured. They could tell she wasn’t. But she just held them tighter. Because there was nothing left to say. They let _Dipper won’t be gone forever_ hang in the air and wished for it to be true.

* * *

Bill was learning quite a bit about humans. He’d known how to trick humans, how to drive their sanity to the breaking point, how to make them scream in agony. But he didn’t know much about their everyday lives. He hadn’t known about their seasonal struggles with sunshine sadness. He didn’t know how to entertain them and keep them happy. Now he was suddenly confronted with the responsibility to do all of those things. He had to learn his soulmate from the inside out. To bond with him in intimate ways. It was his only objective now. He had his Henchmaniacs occupying themselves in the lower levels of the Fearamid. They weren’t to leave; they couldn’t bother the citizens of Gravity Falls. They had to wait until Bill finished his bond. Then they would be ready to leave this place and take Weirdmaggedon global. So they waited while Bill observed and entertained his human.

Dipper told him about the people of Gravity Falls, and the land of California where he’d come from. He talked about his favorite Mexican place back home. He recounted tales of how he’d defeated gnomes with his sister and learned the secrets of manhood from the Manotaurs. Bill listened to all of it, and even had some interest in some of the stories. He grinned hearing about Gideon’s petty rivalry with Stanley Pines. He laughed hearing about Soos struggling against a virtual Japanese girlfriend. He heard Dipper’s love for the Falls, and came to realize why he’d sacrificed his freedom to save it.

When Dipper asked questions, Bill answered honestly. Bill was as old as the universe itself. He had no parents and no real origin. There was no God like humans understood the concept, but there was the mysterious Axolotl, who presided over the fate of the universe. The Axolotl seemed to have a special deal with the fate of twins. Twins always seemed to be involved in the biggest plans. But there was a limit to even Bill’s knowledge of the Axolotl. Bill explained that soulmates were incredibly rare, but there were some demons who had soulmates. It was more likely for demons to have soul marks because they lived unlimited lifespans. Therefore, the amount of demons who had soul marks collected over time. Bill had spent a lot of time in the second dimension, and was the master of the dreamscape. He told Dipper about his life’s interests. His love for chaos. Several things Dipper had already known.

What did he have to bare his soul over? Bill frowned, realizing most of his life had been mischief and chaos. Did he have hobbies? Did he have memories? His friendship with the Henchmaniacs was based on the fact that they had no moral code and no problem following his every order. He had no real bonds with anyone. Now he had to establish one with this human. A human who’d had many bonds before him. It seemed the whole town had deep love for him. Bill checked in periodically on Gravity Falls. Despite the fact that they were free now, none of them seemed to be living happy lives. They were all focused on the missing child. They all wanted Dipper back among them.

So what were they going to do when they ran out of things to talk about?

Bill decided to get a television. Stanley seemed to spend a truly staggering amount of time in front of his television before his kid disappeared. Maybe that would help fill in the gaps of time while Bill bonded with his human. Maybe it was even something they could bond over. He cleared out a space in the room and laid out a television while his human slept. What did they even show people in Gravity Falls?

Like everything else in the town, television was strange. There were channels dedicated to black and white movies, series with mostly incoherent plotlines, and colorful cartoons. Bill noticed a truly staggering amount of gun shows playing on TV. Why did Gravity Falls citizens put up with this garbage?

Dipper’s breathing began to change, a sure sign that he was waking up. He yawned and stretched. Bill looked with satisfaction as his human looked out the window. He had seemed much happier since he’d installed the glass. Still not totally satisfied with this new life. But it was only temporary. Once Bill bonded with his soulmate and started Weirdmaggedon again, Dipper could be free. He could return to the Falls. He’d been considering the future of Gravity Falls, and Bill’s deal with his soulmate. It was true that he hadn’t kept promises to Dipper before. It was true he’d deceived his soulmate before. However, he had promised he’d keep his family and friends safe. He hadn’t promised it would be permanent. A loophole he’d made for the sake of himself. But maybe after this was all over, he would keep the promise. Just for the kid’s sake. He could leave the barrier and seal off the Falls. Keeping everyone trapped inside forever. Dipper and his human family could be like free range chickens on a farm. Free but still trapped. Kept normal and strange for the rest of eternity while the rest of the world burned.

“Mm. Bill, what are you doing?” Dipper said, yawning as he swung his legs over the couch.

“Good to see you awake, Pine Tree. I got something to keep you occupied.” Bill gestured to the television. The child leaned over to look at the device. His hair hung off his face, giving Bill a glimpse of their soul mark. His human stomach did a strange thing, a squeezing sensation. He ignored it. “Hey, kid. You ever thought about cutting your hair?”

Dipper’s fingers brushed over his forehead. “Uh, no. People don’t like it. It’s strange looking.”

“People? Or you?” Bill pressed.

“Both.” The kid answered with a shrug. “People don’t like what’s different.”

“Look kid, everything in Gravity Falls is a little bit strange. I think you’d be fine letting your hair down, so to speak.”

Dipper looked away, quiet and sad. “I’m not in Gravity Falls anymore.”

Again, Bill pressed his sarcasm back into his mouth. This was entirely too difficult. He wanted to poke around in the mindspace. Bond with the kid through that. He may have a physical form, but he couldn’t force the Bond through magical means. It had to be sincere. Something Bill Cipher had no practice being. But maybe he could do it through the dreamscape? That didn’t require a deal to get into. And the kid seemed to sleep a lot. He was sure humans didn’t sleep this much. Maybe it was because he had nothing else to do? Well, the television should fix that.

“Well, we still get Gravity Falls channels. What do you like to watch, kiddo?” He handed Dipper the remote.

“Documentaries.” Dipper answered immediately. “I don’t usually get to watch them though. When Grunkle Stan doesn’t have a monopoly on the TV, Mabel is watching some kind of cartoon on it.”

“Well today’s your lucky day, Pine Tree. This is all yours.” Bill sang, dangling the remote in front of his soulmate. As soon as he saw the gleam in his soulmate’s eyes, the demon decided it was worth it. The kid snatched the remote out of Bill’s hands, gently nudged him aside, and went about finding a channel that suited his tastes. Bill grinned. It was perfect. He’d removed local news channels so that Dipper wasn’t aware of the ongoing search for him. The gift had made him happy. Maybe he wasn’t so bad at human-keeping after all.

Dipper finally settled on a channel, pushing himself onto the couch again and pulling his blanket around himself. It was the nature channel, of course. Bill rolled his eyes and sat his ass down next to his soulmate. Time to see what Dipper considered prime time entertainment.

Today’s segment was dedicated to the penguins of the world. Bill grinned at the subject. Jackass penguins. Or African penguins. Named for their donkey-like braying. These penguins didn’t live in the barren cold of the Arctic. They lived on the rocky shores of Africa. This was apparently a troubling place to live. Not because of a lack of food or resources. But because the scorching heat of the sun threatened their existence. Dipper and his demon watched with rapt attention as the narrator explained how the penguins would lay for hours in the stifling sun, shading their eggs so that they didn’t cook. They laid on the burning rocks, heads turned skywards, hissing with mouths open as they tried to stand the heat. Sometimes penguins would abandon their chicks for relief in the sea. Their eggs would cook and die. Some years no chicks hatched.

Bill had to admit. He was hooked. “Why don’t they lay their eggs in the shade?!” He shouted. “Or find a cave… some sort of shelter!” He turned to his soulmate, and Dipper was laughing and grinning. His smile was infectious. His face split too.

“Why are there even penguins in Africa?” Dipper said between giggles. “The narrator said they’re designed to withstand forty degrees below zero. Not above. He said that! Word for word. Why in the world have they settled here?”

“Your planet is crazy.” Bill decided. “Was long before I got here.” He kicked back; hands knit behind his head while he lounged out on the couch.

Dipper stared at him. “Yeah. Maybe.” He said. “But… in some way the chaos is ordered. It’s not destructive. Things live and die but they try their best. Most of them stayed with their eggs. For hours in the sun. Their dedication… you have to admire it.”

“I like it.” Bill told him. “The chaos? It gives your planet some flavor. I lived for a long time in the second dimension. Nothing interesting about that. No jokes. No surprises. Earth is nothing if not full of surprises.”

Dipper smiled. A sweet smile that made Bill’s heart do some strange fluttering thing. “Yeah.” Dipper agreed. He laid out the same way Bill was, imitating his leisure. “Earth is full of surprises.”

* * *

Wendy sighed; Mabel was gone again. Stan sent her out to find his niece. Stan wasn’t that good at finding her. He had no imagination for it. Mabel tucked herself into small corners, or retreated to the roof, or hid behind logs in the woods. She would tuck herself into her sweater and cry all alone. She wasn’t in any of the usual spots. The roof, the closet, that one log in the woods with the mushrooms that looked like hearts. Wendy turned and headed back for the Mystery Shack. There were a couple more places to check. The bathroom connected to their room, under her bed, the cupboard they kept pots and pans. She didn’t bother taking off her boots, jogging up the stairs and turning into Dipper and Mabel’s room.

The place was particularly messy without Dipper. Wendy stepped over unwashed clothes and opened scrapbooks to open the bathroom door. The shower curtain was closed. She pulled it aside and found Mabel inside, curled up with her head tucked into her sweater.

“You okay?” Wendy asked. She already knew the answer. But she wanted Mabel to open up about it. This was crushing the girl. And without Dipper to talk to? Her feelings festered unchecked inside of her.

“This is my fault.” Mabel cried. Wendy frowned. She immediately kicked off her boots and climbed into the tub, kneeling down in front of Mabel. She didn’t withdraw from the comfort of her sweater. Wendy didn’t hug her. Just stayed with her.

“That isn’t true.” Wendy said.

“It is!” She shouted. “I gave the rift to Bill! He came to me as that dumb time traveler and offered to make summer last forever. I gave him exactly what he needed, I was _so dumb._ Dipper never got tricked like that. He was so selfless and he always did everything for me. And I made that dumb cool version of him in my bubble while he was trying to save me!”

Now Wendy pulled Mabel into her arms. Sweater and all. “He tricked you.” She reminded her. “He had you under a spell. I went and destroyed my high school while we were trying to rescue you. That place was made to keep you complacent.”

“Dipper didn’t fall for it.” Mabel said solemnly.

“Dipper’s paranoid.” Wendy said lovingly. “That dork never lets his guard down. You may have given him the rift. But you shouldn’t have had it to begin with. I think it was super irresponsible of Ford to involve Dipper in this. That’s why you had that. Bill tricked you. Because that’s what he does. Whatever you did, you can apologize for it. When Dipper gets home you can ask him for forgiveness. Whatever you did, he won’t hold it against you.”

Mabel relaxed imperceptibly at Wendy’s words. The teenager smiled. “He’ll be home soon.” Wendy promised. “I just feel it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think about the perspective changes? I think it highlights the two key parts of the story. The fact that Dipper lost his freedom and was abruptly removed from his past life, and the fact that he's gaining a new aspect of his life. Sound off in the comments. Or just talk to me about African penguins or whatever. I love the fact that you're enjoying this. I love writing it


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan tells the Pines parents what happened to their son. Also, hand holding is the first step to a deeper human connection. You know the drill. Here we go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I had to make up the names for the Pines parents. The Wikipedia page for them says that their first names are Dipper and Mabel's middle names. But neither the show nor the Wikipedia page mentions Dipper and Mabel's middle names and the Wikipedia page for the Pines parents is lacking in almost any information about them. They will be minor characters in this story, but like, present enough to need names. I chose the names, Erin and Mark, from a page titled "top 1000 popular baby names in 1983" since I decided that was a reasonable time for a pair of parents to be born. My parents are very old, my dad had kids at 49 and my mom at 38 but I'm aware most people have kids younger. Anyway, enjoy the story!

“Three… two… one… alright! Here I come!” Dipper said. He couldn’t hold back his giddy smile when he pulled his hands away from his eyes. It had been years since he’d played hide and seek with his sister. He had spent the whole summer trying to grow up faster, but sometimes he missed the funnest parts of being a kid. He ran off the porch of the Mystery Shack into the woods, trying to find his sister.

It was a perfect day. Sun reached down through the canopy and lit the ground Dipper ran on. Leaves crunched beneath his feet. The trees were thick out here. There was no path to follow in the untouched parts of the forest. He heard his sister giggling. He smirked. She could never keep quiet when she thought she had a good hiding spot. He turned the corner, ready to tag her, only to be confronted by Bill Cipher, sitting on the ground in human form with a snow cone.

Dipper shouted in surprise and leapt back, flailing his arms to regain his balance. The demon smiled at him. “What’s up, Pine Tree? Great dream you have here.”

Irritated, Dipper stomped his foot and clenched his fist like a child. “Cipher! Can’t you give me some time with my sister for five minutes?!”

The demon shrugged. “She’s not here. This is an illusion. The giggling? She’s not hiding here. Want me to help you find her?” His eyes were gleaming with mischief as he asked.

“Pshh. No. That takes the fun out of it. Besides I think that’s cheating.” Dipper said, leaning against a nearby tree with a smile.

Bill began to float, the same way he always did as a polygon, leaning over in midair to breach his personal bubble. Bill folded his hands under his chin and gave Dipper a charming grin. “Come on, Pine Tree. Learn to live a little.”

Dipper’s eyes were drawn to the snow cone, now floating next to Bill since his hands were occupied. “Where did you get that?” He asked.

“I control this place. The dreamscape is my kingdom.” He snapped his fingers and Dipper found himself holding his own snow cone. Aw, what the hell? Might as well. He took a bite. Black cherry. It was wickedly good. He smiled at the demon.

“You haven’t showed up in my dreams since… I think about a month ago. Before all this happened.” Dipper remembered. “What inspired the change of heart?”

“Guess I just want to bond with my soulmate in a different way.” Bill gave the child a few coquettish bats of his lashes. Leaning even closer until their faces were only inches apart. “Am I the demon of your dreams?”

Dipper laughed, putting his hand over Bill’s face and pushing him away. “No way, man!” The demon tumbled back through the air before catching himself. He leaned up, giving Dipper a childish pout.

“You don’t play fair, Pine Tree.” He sighed, getting up and dusting off his immaculate pants. “So, I’ll ask the same question again. Want me to play hide and seek with you?”

“You didn’t ask that. You asked me if you wanted me to cheat! I have to find my sister on my own.” Dipper said. “Speaking of which, is she here?”

“Not the real her.” Bill explained. “Mortals don’t enter each other’s dreams. They don’t know how to navigate the void between their individual fantasies. Every mortal you meet in a dream is an illusion of your own making.”

Dipper sighed. “Figures. I’d still like to see her, though.”

“Well, kiddo. I think there’s a good chance of that. But we’d have to play the game.” Bill took to the air again. “If you don’t want me to tell you where she is. I won’t. But I hope you don’t mind me keeping you company.”

Dipper shrugged, trying to hide the inflating feeling of elation in his chest. “Whatever, man.”

Bill gave an easygoing smile and followed Dipper through the woods as he set off to find his sister.

* * *

Ford sighed, running a hand down his face. He and his brother sat soberly at a table. They’d each had a few drinks to try and build up some courage, but the warm feeling of the alcohol seemed to evaporate as soon as they sat down at the table. The phone sat in front of them. It was getting close to the time where Dipper and Mabel were supposed to leave for California again. Without Dipper anywhere in sight, they could no longer put off telling their parents about his absence. His brother looked like he was going into shock. His fingers kept twitching, as if to do something. But still Stanley remained motionless.

“Would you like me to do it?” Ford asked.

Stan shook his head with a sigh. “No, no. I was supposed to be their summer guardian. Him going missing is on me. They should hear it from me.”

Ford sat back, running his hand over the back of his neck nervously. “That’s—that’s very honorable of you, Stanley.”

Stan nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Great hero I am. Lost my grand-nephew.” He picked up the phone. “Alright, no point in putting it off.” He picked up the ancient landline and dialed the number to the Pines parents. He held the phone to his ear, dreading each ring. If he was lucky, they wouldn’t pick up. He waited with baited breath. Ford took his hand, and Stan didn’t even push him away. He squeezed it and pretended nothing was happening.

 _Hello? Stan? Are the kids having trouble packing?_ Stan swallowed his nerves as best he could. Erin Pines sounded bright and cheerful as she always did. Another stab of panic shot through Stan’s guts.

“Uh, no. They’re not packing yet.” Stan said awkwardly.

Erin scoffed. _Ugh. Are those kids giving you trouble? You know how kids are, it’s so hard to get them to do anything! I hope they didn’t disturb you too much this summer._

Stan choked on his emotion. “No. They were great. They’re the best thing that’s happened to me in years.” He said earnestly.

 _Uncle Stanford? Are you crying? I wasn’t aware they were that bad. What’s wrong?_ A tinge of concern was in her voice now. He gripped his brother’s hand tighter. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do it. He took several deep, steadying breaths.

“They can’t come home right now.” Stan finally said. “Dipper is missing.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. A moment so long Stan worried the connection dropped. Then there was a little _click_ and the line went dead.

Ford gave him a strange look. Stan swallowed. Something in his throat felt really tight. “I think she hung up on me.” He said.

“Makes sense.” Ford sighed. “She’s probably packing her bags right now. They’ll be here in two days. Get ready to deal with her.”

Stan buried his face in his free hand with a heavy groan. Ford rubbed his thumb in soothing circles over the back over his brother’s hand. Stan suddenly realized how long it had been since he had held his brother’s hand. Probably hadn’t done this since they were children. He realized how much he’d secretly missed the feeling of his brother’s six fingers in his. Dipper and Mabel were so close. Like they had been. He missed being like they were.

“Kid always drove me crazy.” He said. “He’s a nerd. So much like you. Mabel isn’t like us. With her crafts and glitter and loud jokes. She’s so quiet now. It’s unnerving to have a quiet house after you’ve been living with kids like them all summer.”

“Did you feel like she does? When I was gone?” Ford asked.

“Man, sometimes. Why do you think I stayed here? I spent thirty years of my life trying to get you back.” Stan groaned again. “Thirty years. I’m so… old. I don’t know if I have thirty years left. We need to get him back. Mabel won’t last thirty years either.”

“It won’t take that long to get him.” Ford said, determined. “You have me now. You didn’t have that before. I know as much as anyone does about Bill Cipher and his magic. If I can’t get him back—”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Stan said.

“We will get him back.” Ford finished instead.

Stan thought about the Pines parents. It would be great if they could get him back before they arrived on his doorstep. He fiddled with his brother’s fingers. “Yeah.”

* * *

The dreamscape was two things. Irrationally idyllic and strangely empty. The Mystery Shack was never empty. There was always Soos fixing something or Wendy kicked back behind the register with a magazine in her hand. Or Stan giving a tour and showing people some fake garbage. Sometimes Mabel would be making crafts in the living room or mixing some sort of glittery potion in the kitchen. But there was nobody in the Shack. Anywhere. There was only him and Bill. Something about the world seemed to shift and feel strange. Like it wasn’t quite solid.

“Doesn’t this seem… off?” Dipper asked.

“Most mortals' dreams are. They don’t have great command over this world. Most objects in their dreams are amorphous and half-formed. They’re less of a solid thing and more of a concept.” Bill explained. “You would have a hard time making a good snow cone in this world. At least, not on purpose. Whereas I can pump these puppies out like no tomorrow.”

“So is Mabel even in this world?” Dipper asked.

“The idea of her is.” Bill answered. “This is your home. And Mabel is inseparable from your idea of home.”

Dipper’s heart squeezed at that. He blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the tears from his eyes. He always missed his sister. Since he left Gravity Falls. But this place, and his words, it just threw gasoline on the fire. He wiped at his eyes and walked away. He had to find her now. Hide and seek or not.

Bill quietly followed Dipper as his search grew more and more frantic. The demon frowned to himself. This wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t going to find Mabel. Not panicking like he would. It would only warp the dreamscape. He gave a few subtle twitches of his fingers, magically modifying their world.

“Blarg! Got ya!” Mabel shouted as she popped out of space. Dipper shouted in surprise and grinned, pulling his sister into his arms.

“Mabel! I’m so glad to see you!” The dream grinned, showing shiny metal glittering on her teeth. She was wearing all the normal accoutrement typical of the female Pines twin. A big fluffy sweater with a cat on it, a sparkly headband, several butterfly clips, light up sneakers. She had big fluffy brown hair and a million colorful rubber bands on her wrists.

Bill sat back and watched as his soulmate ran around with his sister. Satisfied that he was calmer now. Despite lacking the metal that Mabel’s teeth sported, Dipper had the most dazzling smile Bill had ever seen on a human. He briefly recalled sticking his teeth in Dipper’s mouth when he occupied the meat suit, inspecting the immaculately kept molars. He was probably the only twelve-year-old in the world that flossed every night. He remembered commenting on how deluxe the kid’s body was. Now, looking at that big, bright smile, he knew he’d been right. Bill floated nearby and ignored the little fluttery feelings in his dumb human chest.

* * *

Dipper woke up exactly where he’d been before. In Bill’s living room. He sighed, rolling over and closing his eyes again, trying to savor the memory of being with his sister again. But it was hard to concentrate on it with the demon so close. Leaning over his body in midair and inspecting him.

“Kid, I know you’re not asleep. Your space in the dreamscape is gone. You’ve returned to this world.” He snapped his fingers, and a plate of eggs on toast appeared. “I’ve got breakfast!”

Dipper reluctantly sat up, sighing when he looked at the perfect eggs. “You know, have you ever tried cooking?”

“Human cooking? Why would I do that when I can materialize objects out of nothing?” Bill clapped twice and six bowls of cereal appeared around the demon’s head. Milk poured out of nowhere into the bowls. Bill clapped again and sent them away.

Dipper rolled his eyes at the display. “I don’t know. Hobbies or something? Do you have pastimes that _don’t_ involve messing around with people’s lives?”

“Not a chance, Pine Tree!” Bill laughed. “Are you a cook? What do you do when you’re not prancing around in the woods?

“I do not prance!” Dipper objected. “And yes! Sometimes I do cook. Stan makes microwave dinners and Mabel… well it’s nice to have something that isn’t 50% sprinkles sometimes.”

Bill leaned further into Dipper’s space. He did that a lot nowadays. “Oh. So, are you trying to get me a human hobby? Is that it?”

“Dude, you don’t need to put ‘human’ into everything that you don’t do. That’s just a bad science fiction trope.” Bill snickered at Dipper’s complaint. He sat back and watched, fascinated while Dipper ate his food. Again, his thoughts returned to his truly dazzling smiles. His perfect human teeth. He realized he was probably staring for too long when Dipper started giving him his trademark side-long nervous glances. But he didn’t care. He watched with rapt attention while the kid’s jaw worked around toast and egg. His tongue pushing the food around in his mouth. The way his throat stretched slightly and bobbed as he swallowed. Dipper cleared his throat. Bill summoned some water. Dipper gave a frustrated sigh. “You’re not picking up on social cues. When I clear my throat, I’m trying to subtly call to attention that you’re making me uncomfortable.”

“I’m not aware of your social cues.” Bill lied. “Besides, I’m not embarrassed. You shouldn’t be either. I like watching you eat.”

Dipper shifted on the couch. He shook his head. “It’s just weird. All this uninterrupted staring. It’s also weirder when you’re not eating anything. Humans engage in activities together. As a social thing.”

“I don’t need to eat.” Bill reminded him. Dipper glared. “But for you, I will.” He relented. If only to get the kid to stop complaining. A toaster pastry popped out of thin air and into Bill’s hand.

“Poptarts. I didn’t know demons liked Poptarts.” Dipper said. Bill shrugged. Now he was watching Dipper’s hands. Fingers clenching and unclenching around forks and knives. He could see bones moving beneath the skin. The little dips of his knuckles when he laid his hands flat. Nails that the kid clearly chewed on. Bill had shaken many a human hand. But he never really paid close attention to them. Dipper’s hands were lily white and soft as cotton. He wanted to touch them. But Dipper was always freaked out when the demon actually touched him. Soft grazes of his hand or little pokes made the kid shriek and shove him away. It was very frustrating. Especially since he knew humans bonded partially through touch.

“Can I hold your hand, kid?” Bill asked outright. Dipper looked suspicious, but Bill held his hands up defensively. “Hey, no deals or shady business. Promise.”

Dipper hesitated _again_ but surprisingly, he relented. Why? Bill couldn’t say. A few days ago, Dipper would probably have told him to drop dead. Maybe he was getting lonely. Maybe he was actually softening up to the demon. Whatever the case, the kid held out his hand with a warning glare. If looks could kill—

Bill ignored the look and pressed their palms together. In contrast with his tanned skin, Dipper looked even paler. Bill was surprised to see his own hands. He often forgot about his human meat suit. There was a warmth between their touching hands, the natural warmth produced by human bodies. But also a tingling that was decidedly _unnatural._ The same feeling Bill always got touching hands with a human. It was his demon magic at work. He could fire it up and enter Dipper’s mind right now. Have total control over him. Instinctually he wanted to. He was a demon, that was what he did. But he ignored that to examine the surprised look on his soulmate’s face. He probably felt it too. The potential for magic. The human seemed nervous and he was hesitating again. Bill locked their fingers together, lacing them one after the other. Dipper’s breath hitched and the tingling grew stronger. Sometimes spaced by static shocks. Bill hummed with pleasure. This was nice. He could feel the bones in Dipper’s hands beneath skin and muscle. His skin was just as soft as it looked.

Dipper’s brown eyes scanned the demon, looking for any early signs that Bill might betray his trust and fire up his magic. What would he do if he did? Remove Dipper’s teeth? Throw him down another flight of stairs? Throw him out of his own body like he did before? But the demon didn’t look aggressive or mischievous. He only looked… contented. His eyelids slid open and shut more slowly than usual, and in the dim lighting of the room his golden eye seemed to glow. Dipper’s breath hitched in surprise. He felt it. The magic between them. Was that a demon thing, or did this have to do with them being soulmates? His other hand, the one not occupied by Bill Cipher, was knotted in the couch cushion behind his back. Digging into the velvet and balling up tight. Was he shaking? Probably. Everything was incredibly tense.

“Relax.” The word rolled off Bill’s tongue so easily. Just as easily as he said it, Dipper did it, to his own surprise. Did the demon force him to?! No… No that wasn’t it. Maybe he was just instinctually beginning to realize that Bill wouldn’t betray him on this. Dipper looked again at their knotted hands. Bill was rubbing soothing little circles into the knuckle of his thumb. His nails were immaculate. If Dipper didn’t know better, he’d say the demon had regular manicures. Why was he thinking about that? He tipped his head slightly to try to hide the way his ears turned pink.

Bill watched with growing amusement at his human’s bashfulness. Who knew Dipper could be so sweet? No more “deceitful demon” this, and “you won’t trick me again, Bill” that. He gripped the human’s hand a little tighter. Giving it a squeeze.

Suddenly their fingers were coming apart. Unlacing until Dipper’s hand was just resting in Bill’s. The demon brought it up, close to his face, and planted a kiss on his knuckles. Dipper nearly gasped and his mouth dropped open in surprise. Bill gave him a coy smile. His eye was alight with something that wasn’t quite mischief. “Thank you for the opportunity.” He said. Somewhere between teasing and sincere.

Dipper didn’t know what to say. “You’re welcome.” He breathed.

Bill let go of his hand and turned away to sit in his armchair. When the demon’s eye was off him, he allowed himself to go through his emotional reaction. Silently screaming and wringing his hand. He turned over quickly, pulling the blanket up around himself to shield from prying eyes. Then he was alone with his thoughts. Stuck with the fresh memory of tantalizingly soft lips on his knuckles.

Oh boy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy! Spicy stuff happening in this chapter! Hang onto your hats and settle into your beds because we have what we like to call in the biz, a sexy scene.

Mabel was having a _very_ hard week.

Nothing seemed to help her now. Not sprinkles or pancakes or fun fluffy sweaters. She spent most of her time clinging to Waddles for comfort and crying. So much so that her eyes seemed permanently swollen shut. What horrible things was that demon doing to her brother? What if she could never apologize for the things she did? What if she never saw him again? These questions tormented her constantly. She’d cry all day, panic through the night, and collapse into a fitful sleep full of nightmares when the exhaustion was too much to bear. Candy and Grenda came over occasionally to try an comfort her. But she was inconsolable. Stan and Ford would make the most sugar packed stack of pancakes they could muster. But her appetite was nonexistent. There was nothing but Dipper and the endless void he left in her life.

She had been with her twin her whole life. They did everything together. Solved every problem together. There was no step forward she took in her life without him. So how could she go forward without him?

It hurt her more to see the concern of the people who loved her. Stan and Ford quietly grew more frantic over her condition. Candy and Grenda reached out hesitantly, unsure of how to help hurts they couldn’t put Hello Kitty Band-Aids on. Even Waddles seemed to grasp that something was desperately wrong with his human. He would nudge at her and oink and do adorable things. But nothing made her smile. Seeing people worry over her made her feel sick. They shouldn’t be focused on her. Dipper was the one in danger. Whatever happened to her didn’t really matter as long as they got him back.

She took bare minimum care of herself to try and soothe them. She dragged herself into the shower and laid on the floor of the tub under the stream of water. She washed her hair in bubblegum shampoo and didn’t enjoy its delightful scent and bright candy color. She ate orange slices and chocolate milk before crawling back into bed. She changed her clothes and fed her pig and drank water. She maintained her body. Maybe Dipper could come back someday. And he wouldn’t want to see how far she’d fallen without him. It would break him up inside to know how hurt she was in his absence. She didn’t want that. If he returned, she wanted to hold him. She wanted nothing to interrupt the joy she’d feel holding her brother again.

Mabel was determined to see him again.

Ford and Stan sighed in relief, watching her fall to sleep on the couch. She’d eaten the bowl of popcorn and cup of granola they’d given her. They clasped the edge of the doorway, hesitant to approach. Ford tapped his six fingers lightly against the drywall and bit his lip. He wanted to carry her into bed. But he was afraid to disturb her. He wanted to see her sleeping more. He knew she didn’t do nearly enough of that nowadays.

Mabel was such a bright, sunny child. Her happiness and positivity lit up rooms. As did her colorful crafts and artwork. Mabel had a collection of homemade sweaters and scrapbooks that put professionals to shame. Her light was undeniable. Dimmed by Dipper’s absence, Ford wished more than anything to have it back. He loved his great niece so much.

“Alright. Let’s get her into bed already.” Stan walked quietly forward. Ford reached out to stop him but Stanley was already out of his grasp. He hoisted their niece into his arms and began to carry her off to her room. “She’s going to have better sleep in bed. With a blanket and her stuffed animals. Let’s let the pig in too. I don’t usually let that animal into her room. But… ya know.”

Ford nodded quietly. Whatever made her most comfortable they could tolerate. They’d do anything to make her happier at this point. Even a small smile would lift their spirits considerably. Stan settled his niece into her bed. Gently wiggling her shoes off and giving her forehead a sweet kiss. Ford’s heart skipped a beat.

He’d missed this.

He missed thirty years of life on Earth and came back to his grand niece and nephew. Already growing young people with personalities and ideas of their own. He might have missed all of it. If Stanley hadn’t brought him back. He could have never kissed his niece of the head or known her name. All of it would’ve been gone forever. And he wouldn’t have even known.

Ford took a few quiet steps forward. He pulled the comforter up to Mabel’s chin and planted his own kiss onto her head. He looked at her sleeping face for a second. She was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen.

He could have missed it.

Him and Stanley retreated from the room quietly. Closing the door gently behind them. They let out identical sighs of relief. Ford leaned against the wall, letting his head rest against it. Tipping his face up and closing his eyes.

“Stanley. I never thanked you.” Ford said quietly. “Not really. For bringing me back. And saving my life. And letting me meet my family again.”

Stan looked at his brother with an unreadable expression. His face was slack and neutral. But his eyes shone with affection. Ford smiled. The softest smile he’d donned in decades. “Thank you for giving me my life back.”

Stan looked away. But Ford could see that his ears were red. Ford’s smile grew.

“No problem, Sixer.”

* * *

Dipper was in a predicament.

An increasingly clingy demon accosted him at every moment of the day and night. It started out with handholding. He would lock hands with Dipper any time the human allowed him to. Then leaning against his shoulder. Or touching his hair. There was nothing explicit going on yet. They hadn’t even kissed yet—thank god—but just yesterday Bill Cipher had pulled Dipper into his lap. Which earned the demon an indignant shriek and a hard slap to the face. The comical red handprint had disappeared in a matter of seconds, but the kicked puppy expression stayed for hours. It drove Dipper’s blood pressure up all day every day.

“Why do you do this to me?” Dipper groaned while Bill wiggled his fingers between Dipper’s _yet again._ “Is this just another way to torment me?”

“No. Just enjoying my property.” Bill chirped. Dipper couldn’t contain the offended scoff that escaped at those words.

“I do not belong to you!” Dipper snapped. “I am my own person.”

“Not so, Pine Tree.” The demon sing-songed. Dipper ground his teeth in irritation. “You agreed to be mine forever. You even got my mark.” He swept Dipper’s hair off his forehead. The kid smacked the demon’s hair away quickly. “What do you humans say? If it’s yours why didn’t you put your name on it? You’re my property.”

“This isn’t your name. It’s a constellation.” Dipper said stubbornly. “Besides, doesn’t that make you _my_ property as well?”

Bill frowned. “I don’t see why that’s the case.”

“Because that’s my soul mark too! If I’m your property because we share a soul, then you’re _mine_ just the same.” Dipper gave a surprisingly evil grin then. “Do you want your precious reputation to be sullied by being the property of some human kid?”

Bill’s jaw dropped in surprise. Logically that would probably be correct. By his own logic Dipper had just as much claim to the demon as he did. He had no real counterargument on hand. What a weird kid. Stop thinking about it. He had to have a good comeback lined up. Bill Cipher may be fond of the kid, but he had to have the last laugh.

He leaned over the human, smiling in a way that showed off all of his teeth. Teeth that were just a bit too sharp to be fully human. His golden eyes flashed dangerously. “What if I was okay with belonging to you?”

Dipper’s eyes shot open, and he leaned back to try and reclaim some of his personal space. Bill just pressed further. Until Dipper was sprawled out over the couch with Bill Cipher hanging over him, arms on either side of his head to cage him in. He took a sharp breath. The demon dropped a little further down. He was so close now. “What then, kid? You look like the kind of kid who takes good care of his belongings.”

 _This is a seduction._ Dipper realized through the stunned silence in his mind. Lord, he was close. Bill smelled like sandalwood and musk. It made Dipper dizzy, breathing when he was so close, so he held his breath. He was so dazed and relaxed Dipper nearly wondered if he was under some sort of spell or glamor. But there didn’t seem to be any magic in this. Dipper knew demon magic. Knew it well. Which meant this was his own reaction to Bill’s natural charm. Dipper was rather miffed at the thought. Bill was coming closer. Lowering himself down to his elbows. Dipper observed some copper streaks in his golden eyes, which just brought out the depth of their color. His head spun in confusion and warmth seemed to spread from his core.

“Am I right?”

Oh right. The stupid, sexy questions Bill was asking. “Uh…” Dipper said, his mouth hanging open. “Weird.”

A chuckle vibrated in Bill’s chest. He was even _closer_ now. God, was the demon going to kiss him? His first kiss going to be a demon? Or did Mermando still count? The very thought of that had Dipper shoving at Bill’s chest. The moment was broken. Bill looked irritated, but he allowed the kid to push him away. Dipper quietly noticed his hands were trembling, and even though Bill was out of his personal space, there was still warmth pooling in his gut. Is that what arousal is like?

All at once all the blood in Dipper’s body rushed to his face, leaving him even more dizzy and confused than he was before. “Right.” His voice squeaked, and Dipper cleared his throat. “I’m gonna… uh… go to sleep! Goodnight.”

Bill didn’t point out that it was barely noon. He frowned and let the kid hide himself away under his blankets. When Dipper was settled, he phased through the floor, disappearing into the lower levels of the Fearamid to be alone with his thoughts just as Dipper hid under his blanket to be alone with his. Strange feelings churned in his chest.

What the hell was that?

* * *

The pounding on the front door of the Mystery Shack heralded the moment Stan had been dreading. He sighed, hauling himself out of his armchair and opened it to two furious Pines parents.

“Where is Mabel?!” Erin fumed, shoving Stan aside and stomping past the threshold. “I can’t believe you Uncle Stanford! I’m calling the police! I’m going to— who the hell is that?!”

Ford stood in the space between the living room and the entry hall, leaning against the doorway and sizing up his nephew and niece-in-law. Mark was wearing the same furious expression as his wife. They looked very much like Dipper and Mabel. They looked like Shermie. “I’m Stanford.” He said.

Mark rounded on Stanley. “You have a lot of explaining to do! Stanley Pines is dead. Legally dead. There is a pyramid in the sky outside! Our son is missing! Tell us what’s happening right now!”

“Oh, right, the Fearamid.” Stan remembered. “Well, Ford. You’re much better at explaining all this than I ever will be. Let’s sit down and—”

“No! Where the hell is our daughter?!” Erin ran up the stairs before anyone could answer. “Mabel? Mabel!”

Mabel emerged from her room, hair tangled and hanging messily in her face without a headband in sight. She glared at her parents. “Stop yelling.” She deadpanned. Mark and Erin looked at their cheerful daughter in shock. She looked nothing like she normally did. Wearing her rainy-day sweater and a pair of pajamas, she was giving her parents a scathing look of irritation.

Stan waited for a beat before deciding it was probably safe to talk now. “As I was saying, we have a lot of things to explain to you. Sit down. I’ll get some coffee.”

The Pines parents followed Stan through the house into the kitchen. They sat down at the dining table, arms crossed, tempers contained for now. Mabel fixed herself a cup of strawberry lemonade and drank it like a hardened alcoholic would drink vodka. Shot straight down her throat with a tired look on her face. The Pines parents seemed unsettled by this sudden change in their daughter. They gave each other concerned looks until Stan set down piping cups of cheap coffee on the dining table.

Ford watched it all, sitting down and taking one of the cups when Stanley sat down. His six fingers wrapped around the mug, absorbing its warmth while he thought of what to say. “Right. Well. You already saw the Fearamid. And the rift. There’s no hiding Gravity Fall’s inherent strangeness from you now. So, I might as well explain everything.” He paused when Mark and Erin looked like they might yell at him. Mabel gave her parents dirty looks and swung her legs onto the dining room chair, sitting down with all of them. They kept quiet. “Right. Gravity Falls is a place where all the unusual anomalies of the unnatural world gather. I have met many creatures one might deem magical, and seen many objects that are _undoubtedly_ magical. I built a cabin and settled here to study the phenomenon many years ago.”

“Okay. Why is our son gone?” Mark interrupted. “That’s the most important part of this story.”

“Well you need the explanation for that. You see, I hit a roadblock in my research. I believed there may be a separate dimension where all the strangeness in Gravity Falls originated from. A place that I could access through a portal. But even with the work of two geniuses I could not get it to work. I turned to… outside sources for help.” Ford turned his face down in shame. “In a cave I found inscriptions to summon a deity said to have unknown power and answers. But they also warned of the terrible cost. Being the fool that I was, I read the inscriptions to summon him. I enlisted the help of a demon named Bill Cipher to help me finish my portal.”

Mabel furrowed her brow. Ford had told Dipper this, but not her. She knew the rift had been necessary in opening the door to let in Bill, but knowing he had in part helped orchestrate these events made sense. She drank more lemonade. Ford continued. “With his help, I got the portal working. But there was a breach. A rift, the matter that came from the in-between. I suppose it’s like… like a corridor between our world and the Nightmare dimension. It’s my portal that made this possible. And when Bill came to our world, he came to end it. He began an event he called Weirdmaggedon. He tore apart the laws of reality. Gravity meant nothing, madness was rampant, demons in the streets. I was captured early. As was Mabel.” Mabel gripped her glass tighter. “Dipper set out to save his sister at any cost.”

“The kids were brilliant. You should have seen the things they did. They battled with the most powerful demon in existence in a robot protected by a sacred enchantment. They freed themselves from several prisons. They stuck together. They were the bravest, the strongest, the best chance for Gravity Falls.” Ford wiped a hand over his face, remembering the terrible end to the story. “But it wasn’t enough.”

“The kids were captured. He held them in his hand and threatened to kill them in front of me. Would have done it too. But Dipper… Dipper had a power over Bill he never knew about.” Ford looked up at Mark and Erin, who looked as though they barely believed him. “You’re aware of the nature of soulmates, correct?”

“Oh, that’s enough.” Mark slammed his fist on the table. “Soulmates. Demons. This is utter malarkey. You lost our son! You claim our children did battle with demons. You are a fool. A crazy old fool and it was the biggest mistake of my life giving my children to you! Letting them sit in front of the TV all summer would have been better than… this!”

“Maybe you’re right.” Ford said gravely. “But that choice is gone now. You never once wondered about Dipper’s strange birthmark? That’s no naturally occurring phenomenon.”

“You have six fingers.” Erin pointed out.

“This is a naturally occurring mutation.” Ford waved that off. “A birthmark shaped like a constellation? Mathematically, the probability of that is impossible. It _is_ impossible. That was no birthmark. That’s a soul mark. A soul mark Bill Cipher shares. The demon has claimed his soulmate.”

“Stop! Stop!” Mark shouted. “That’s enough! You claim my son is the _soulmate_ of a _demon?_ Mabel, get up. We’re going.”

Mabel slammed both hands down on the table. The fire in the eyes of the teenager made everyone in the room flinch back. “That’s ENOUGH!” She screamed. “Sit down! Mom, dad, you are making light of Dipper’s sacrifice. Do you have any idea what kind of trouble he went through to save me from where I was captured? It was no sunlit stroll across the Falls, I’ll tell you that! He saved me from my prison bubble, he saved the town from a throne of human agony, and then he sold his freedom to save the Falls! He did it for _me._ He’s gone. Maybe forever. And I never got to say goodbye!”

Erin pulled aside the curtains, looking at the scar in the sky and the floating pyramid. They were still there. She blinked. She rubbed her eyes and blinked again. Still there. She thought long and hard. Her daughter was just about falling apart. Her son was gone. Erin Pines bit her lip. “Let’s say… let’s say you’re telling the truth.” She began. “Why would a demon have a soul?”

“Demons are nothing like the Christian religion describes them. Bill is a polygon in appearance. With a single eye, no other facial features, and a top hat and bowtie. A triangle. Like the all-seeing eye.” Ford said. He drew Bill on a piece of scrap paper for them to examine. “Demons do have souls. Therefore, some demons have soulmates. Soulmates are _incredibly_ rare phenomenon. So much so I believed in demons, gnomes, and zombies without ever considering soulmates with a second glance. The fact that Dipper is the soulmate of a demon like Bill Cipher. The odds are so astronomically impossible… It’s only explained by destiny. What I know of soulmates talks a lot about the nature of fate involved.”

“Why is this important?” Mark snapped. “Why was Dipper taken away?”

“Would you be as powerful in a fight with half your limbs?” Ford asked. “What about half your being? Bill Cipher is the most powerful demon in existence. With the other half of his soul, his powers would be doubled. The apocalypse we experienced would be worldwide. He would tear our dimension to shreds. Bill took Dipper because Dipper has the potential to make him the king of the universe.”

“And you did nothing to stop this?” Mark deadpanned.

“Dipper made a choice. I tried to stop it, but there was nothing I could do in a cage.” Ford said. The warmth of his coffee was long gone. His hands were shaking and he took a lukewarm sip of terrible coffee. “But there’s still hope. Dipper is not in danger of being killed. Bill would lose his power grab if he were to do so. Dipper’s soul cannot be removed from its vessel, except in death, and then Bill has no capability to harness it. Dipper must be alive for Bill to use his power. And Bill may not get it even then. He has to complete the Bond. There is no way a demon so selfish and incapable of considering human needs can complete a Soul Bond.”

“Why not? What if Dipper falls in love?” Erin asked. “What if _Bill_ falls in love?”

Ford snorted despite the tension. “I assure you a demon such as Bill Cipher is not going to fall in love with a child.”

“Soulmates are clearly a set of romantic partners bound by fate.” Erin surmised, exhausted and confused. “So, if there is a ‘Bond,’ why wouldn’t Bill bond with him? Bonds are not a one-way street. If Bill needs Dipper’s power, he has to give something in return. Nothing is free. So, I ask you again, how exactly are we _sure_ Bill won’t fall in love with Dipper?”

Ford sat back, horrified at the thought. Its true. Bonds aren’t one-way streets. Dipper and Bill need to share their souls with each other. Would Bill Cipher really fall in love with an anxious little child? Everything Ford knew about Bill screamed no. But a little doubtful voice whispered in his ear. Strange things happen every day in Gravity Falls. Nothing is impossible. Haven’t you learned that? What happens if Bill falls in love with Dipper?

“Shit.”

* * *

Bill had a little problem. A roadblock in his way to total universal domination. And that obstacle was that his first priority wasn’t domination anymore. Somewhere along the way he’d become totally occupied with this kid in his possession. He was spending all his time with the kid. Watching documentaries with him, using his nearly infinite power to perform parlor tricks to impress him, summoning him snacks. Somewhere in the three weeks of his child-napping, his thoughts of worldwide chaos had turned into TV schedules and daisy chains.

The demon was coming to a painful, embarrassing realization. He, Bill Cipher, was falling in love with a dorky little teenager.

When had this happened? When did the terrible Bill Cipher begin to change? Was it when he installed a window? Or potted plants? Did he develop these feelings when he installed the television for him? With a pained grimace he realized how _human_ his living room had become. No more couches of human flesh or glasses of fresh blood laying on the table beside his lamp. He had a fridge, a bathroom attached. He made a _bathroom_ for his little human pet. It was no longer recognizable as the dwelling of the demon Bill Cipher. Somewhere along the way the room, and his cursed human heart, had changed in favor of the child.

He tried to seduce the kid, and let him refuse when he tried to. The old Bill had no interest in sex, or the consent of mortals. That had changed to. Maybe it was the fact that he now had a human penis. Influencing his actions. Should he remove it? No. Part of Bonding with a soulmate was consummating the Bond. He couldn’t do that without parts for intercourse. He groaned, running a pitifully human hand over his face. His _face._

Was he turning into a human?

Flames flared in anger over Bill’s shoulders at the thought. Well. No human he knew could do that. Even skilled mages didn’t have his power. He still felt the tingle of demonic deal-making power between him and Dipper when their hands touched. He concluded that he wasn’t turning into a human. He sighed in relief.

Well then what was this? Was this the infernal Axolotl’s plan all along? Give him a soulmate and a mortal to care for and he’d spare them all? Change his ways? Well good luck with that! He was Bill Cipher. The most powerful demon in the universe. Nothing escaped his grasp and all living forms trembled beneath his awesome—

“Bill! Animal Planet’s on!”

Bill instantly forgot whatever stupid thing he was thinking about. Shooting up through the ceiling to snuggle up next to his new favorite human.

He smiled, leaning against Dipper’s head. Enjoying the way his soft brown curls felt against his cheek. He’d miss this when Weirdmaggedon started again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, more angst and falling in love? Sign me up! Why do I love writing this so much? I don't think I've felt this most euphoria writing something in a long time. Thanks for taking this self-indulgent journey with me! Take this chapter and enjoy

Erin and Mark were settling in well. Well enough, considering the state of their children. They’d run out of beds long ago. Ford slept on the couch, Stan slept in his armchair, and Mabel still slept alone in her shared room with Dipper. Mark and Erin slept in Stan’s room (after he’d gone through it with a _fine tooth comb_ and removed anything incriminating). Ford spent his time doing nerd shit. Reading books, drawing equations on whiteboards, muttering to himself. That sort of stuff. Stan tried to stay out of his way. He claimed this work might help to bring back Dipper. So, Stan begrudgingly tolerated his brother’s strange behavior. He did tours when he could. Mabel spent her time slipping into strange hiding places to avoid her parents. The Pines parents were understandable irritable. Mark continually threatened Stan with all sorts of violence for losing his son. Erin only acknowledged him with icy glares. He ushered out the last tour group with a grin.

“Tell your friends! We put the ‘fun’ in ‘no refunds!’” He closed the door, leaning against it with a heavy sigh. That took it out of him. But he had to pay the bills somehow. The mortgage was close to done. Maybe he’d talk to Ford about what they’d do with it. They weren’t getting younger. Stan figured they’d hand it over to the kids when they finally kicked the bucket. Dipper and Mabel ought to get some use out of it.

He sighed, dropping his ass into his armchair. As much as he loved the thing, it was killing his back to sleep in it every night. Stan looked at the mold growing on the ceiling. It had been three weeks without Dipper. And not a second of it did Stan not feel his absence. For a kid who was out in the woods so much, frolicking around outside the house, it was amazing how important he was for the health of those in the house. These three weeks had probably aged him thirty more years.

He flicked the TV on. Animal Planet. Jeez. Who watched this garbage? Stan flipped aimlessly through channels. Wrestling, news, cartoons. Nothing caught his interest. He groaned, throwing the remote onto the table and lifting himself off his chair again. No good. He had to get out of this damn shack.

Stan shrugged his coat on and shuffled into his shoes. Ford was standing in the middle of the kitchen, mixing salts and powders Stan didn’t recognize. “Hey, you need anything?” He asked his brother. “I’m going to the store.”

“Nothing you can find at a grocery.” Ford grunted. He ran a hand through his grey hair, obviously frustrated, and wrote something down on the papers beside his salt mixture.

“Right.” Stan said. “Not even gonna ask.”

Stan stepped out onto the porch and approached his old, dusty car. He’d probably have to get a new one pretty soon. He’d been in the same car since he’d been kicked out of the house. But the idea of having to talk to Bud Gleeful made his skin crawl. So instead he sat down in his car, ignored the seatbelt, and struggled to start the car for an entire minute. Finally, she shuddered to life, and Stan started down the dirt road to town.

The leaves in Gravity Falls were just beginning to change. Some hints of orange and gold tainted the edges of the green leaves. The wind and rain made more frequent visits and the sun set sooner than usual. Summer was on it’s deathbed. Stan rolled down the window and let the wind blow in his hair. With certain disappointment, he realized that soon the holiday season would be coming. Starting with Halloween. He had a good Summerween with the kids, eating shitty candy and watching dumb movies. He hoped Dipper would be home before Halloween. Then they could do it all again.

The Gravity Falls grocer was open. People were hitting the stores more often nowadays. After Weirdmaggedon, people were even more crazy and paranoid than they were before. Brown meat was often sold out, as were other canned goods. People were apocalypse prepping more than they ever had before. Seemed to be the new town pastime. Nobody wanted to talk about it, but they all knew what Dipper’s absence meant, and that Bill _would_ be back. They all readied themselves for the next wave of weirdness and gave Stan sympathetic looks when they thought he wasn’t looking. It irritated him. He didn’t want their sympathy. He didn’t want their concern or their attention. But he couldn’t bear to talk to them about it. No one wanted to say it out loud. So, they all stayed silent.

Stan walked in with the confidence of someone who didn’t know what he was doing. They didn’t really need anything at home. He just couldn’t stand being in the house anymore. But he had to get something to justify his excuse. He picked up a pack of soda and a bag of gummy worms for his niece. He wandered aimlessly down the aisles. Taking his time looking at what they had on sale. Gravity Falls was a lot like other small towns Stan had settled in before. Weird, off-brand snacks on the shelves and Wonder Bread. Plus, the bargain shelf that changed every week. Usually it was just instant pudding mix and cans of soup they were having trouble getting rid of. The Gravity Falls grocery had obviously been around since the early 50’s and never been remodeled since. Part of the thing that made it charming and cheap. Stan marveled at the selection of popcorn. Not bad. He added some to his basket and moved on.

“What up, ya old codger?” Stan turned at the sound of Wendy’s voice. He scowled at the teenager.

“You’ve been skipping work.” He said.   
“Good to see you, too.” Wendy replied scathingly. “Yeah, well my dad has us doomsday prepping. Are you any close to getting Dipper back?”

Ah. He was the first person outside of his immediate family to have the balls to ask. He furrowed his brow further. “No.” He said, the words a little bitter in his mouth.

“Ugh. Well, hit me up if you need any help with that. I’ll drop everything for it.” She reached behind Stan and grabbed her own supply of popcorn. Not the microwave kind. The kind wrapped in aluminum for stovetops. She grinned, shaking it in his face. “This is better for the apocalypse. Perfect for campfires.”

“Brown meat’s got more nutritional value.” Stan argued.

Wendy wrinkled her freckled nose at the mention. “Don’t start with that. Stuff’s nasty. My dad has a bunch of it. The entirety of Gravity Falls has become obsessed with it since the stragglers you took in started talking.”

“As they should.” Stan began walking on to the next aisle, and Wendy followed close behind.

“How’s Mabel?” She asked. Stan grit his teeth.

“Better.” He said, but his voice was strained. “She’s eating again.”

“That’s a relief.” Wendy said honestly. “Everyone is worried about her. But no one knows how to say it. It’s hard to stomach their absence when they’ve spent all summer terrorizing our streets.”

Stan cracked a small smile, but it faded quickly. “Yeah.”

Wendy followed him silently while Stan pretended to shop. Occasionally grabbing things off the shelves. Bandages, rubbing alcohol, packaged crackers. She wasn’t kidding about the doomsday prepping. Packaged crackers weren’t a terrible idea. He took his own box while they were at it. He also picked up a new lighter and the cheapest cigars money could buy. Wendy frowned at him.

“Come on, put that crap back. You’ve got kids to set an example for. You smoke like a chimney.” She scolded. With a quick swipe she’d taken them out of his basket.

“I’m not an example for anybody. Let Ford be the example.” He complained, trying to grab them back. But she was too quick. Damn youngsters. “I’m old and fat. I’ve got a criminal record that bars me from half the US. Smoking isn’t any worse than that.”

“It is.” She insisted. “Smoking indoors gives kids a much higher chance of asthma in adulthood. It also increases the chances of being immunocompromised.”

Stan squinted. He grew up in the 60’s. Smoking indoors was just what people did back then. They didn’t have any concern for their kids or their lungs. It just wasn’t something they considered. But he supposed that made sense. He wasn’t in the best shape ever. He scowled, scratching his head while he considered.

“Alright, alright. No promises on quitting though.” He relented, putting the box back on the shelf.

Wendy grinned, crossing one muddy boot over the other and leaning against the shelf in a way that was disgustingly suave. “Good. You really do care about those kids.”

“Yeah. Enough to put up with that nerd brother of mine.” Stan said, continuing on down the aisles.

“Mr. Pines, if there’s anything I learned this summer, it’s that Pines twins have unbreakable bonds.” Wendy said, in the wise, annoyingly cool way she always did. “Even if you had bad blood and spent years apart, you love him. You spent half your life trying to save him. And he loves you.”

Unbreakable bonds. Was there such a thing? Stan had spent a lot of time around human beings. He’d seen and experienced a lot of “unbreakable bonds” that ended in betrayal and tragedy. His unbreakable bond with his brother lead to him fighting at the point they had to defeat Bill. And him losing his nephew. People lied, people died, people always had to part in the end. That was the nature of life. Stan sighed. “Look kid, I don’t know about all that. People can’t love each other forever. Sometimes things split them apart.”

“Ya know, my dad still loves my mom. Even though she’d dead. Sometimes life does split people apart. But that doesn’t mean forgetting them.” Wendy said. She pulled her wallet out, and parted from Stan to go check out. Stan stood there, thinking about that. He’d never seen his parents after the science fair. After they kicked him out. He’d hitchhiked across the country, scamming people and gambling, and didn’t ever make up with them. Sometime after he faked his death and put all his time into trying to bring Ford back, they died. Did Ford know about that? He might have to talk with his brother.

They hadn’t left off on a good note. But Stan hoped they’d still loved him. Even after all that time.

He hoped Ford still loved him.

He never got to make things right with his parents. But maybe with Ford he could have the second chance he’d always dreamed of.

* * *

“Bill, look! It’s raining!”

Bill deigned to look up at the banal weather phenomenon visible from their window. “Yeah, kid. It does that a lot on Earth.”

“But it’s beautiful. And the sound of rain on the roof of the Shack is soothing. Even if sometimes the ceiling leaks. And the smell of pine trees in the rain? It’s unreal.” Dipper sighed in pleasure at the memory.

The demon frowned from his armchair. He just didn’t see what was so extraordinary about the weather. He did stand up and walk over to look. But all he saw was water falling from the sky.

“Yep. It’s raining.” Bill confirmed.

“Look closer, man.” Dipper pulled on the sleeve of his dress shirt, pulling Bill down onto the couch. “Look at the glass.”

Bill did. But all he saw was the window. Same as it always was. He just couldn’t see what was so extraordinary about the rain. Dipper breathed onto the window and drew a question mark onto the fogged glass. Bill squinted his eye. What was so beautiful about the rain? What could Dipper see that Bill couldn’t? With his superior vision and knowledge of the infinite universe?

“I wish I could see it through your eyes.” Bill said, looking out the window at the boring old rain.

“Maybe you can?” Dipper said quietly, his sentence lilted as a question, and he was definitely unsure. Bill frowned.

“How?”

“Well, you went through my Grunkle’s memories. You could go through mine. And see the world from our perspective. I could show you.” Dipper said. He gave Bill a scathing look then. “ _If_ you _promise_ not to mess with my mind or take over my body or do any other weird stuff to me!”

“Promise.” Bill said, eager to dive in. “It’s a deal!”

They shook hands, and Bill relished in the connection. The fire that crawled up their arms and linked the two.

Then Bill saw it.

He heard the gentle rhythm of rain on the roof. He saw the raindrops racing down glass, connecting and falling in unpredictable patterns. Shining against the grey light that filtered through the clouds. He saw dew glittering on dandelions in the aftermath. He saw the rainbow. Felt the sweet smell of Earth struck by rain. He felt the rush of splashing in a puddle. And facing towards the sky, facing the rain and letting it run down it’s face. For the first time, he experienced the beauty of the rain.

Bill wondered at this. How had he not seen this? Is this how Dipper experienced everything in life? He dived deeper in. Sifting through memories of beauty. Sunrises on crimson skies. Stars sparkling over the dark Falls, millions of diamonds in the sky. Dragonflies and butterflies. Sun in the forest. A ladybug crawling over Dipper’s thumb. Fireflies in the dark. Short, fleeting moments that came and gone with no fanfare. Ephemeral scenes that were beautiful _for_ their fleetingness. This was how mortals viewed life. This was how they enjoyed everything.

Suddenly, Bill understood something about human life. That humans valued more of their surroundings because they could only have so much of it. Bill had spent an eternity in the expanding cosmos. He’d seen the stars that Dipper gaped at from afar. He’d seen the most dazzling view of the universe. But he wasn’t moved by it at all. Because he’d viewed it for millennia. There were things that Bill would never see. He could never grasp what human life was and could be. Mortals, for the short glimpses of reality they saw, enjoyed everything he could not. There are things hidden from his sight, reserved for the eyes of mortals, by virtue of their mortality. Even if he had objectively superior vision.

Dipper had given him a gift beyond value by showing him this.

Bill suddenly felt an ache. A longing for beauty he’d never felt before. He wanted to live life like a mortal, on Earth, with the beautiful human who’d given him a priceless treasure without anything demanded in return. After seeing the nature of rain through human eyes, he could no longer spend his life in the shadow of human beings. Tracing the path of destruction to no good end. There was a blooming desire that softened him, one he would have called weakness once. But now he was certain that this was something different entirely.

He disconnected their hands. Dipper looked at him expectantly, triumphant grin on his dorky face. He still didn’t realize what he’d done to Bill. Bill smiled at him. He enjoyed the moment, like a mortal would. Taking in the brief smile on Dipper’s face and being grateful for the moment. “Thank you. For showing me this.”

Dipper was ephemeral. He wouldn’t be around forever. One day he would be gone. Like the rain and the sunrise and the fireflies. But maybe he could take a page out of Dipper’s book, and be grateful for the time he was given. Dipper smiled again and looked back out at the rain. Bill joined him, gazing at the grey sky and trying his best to see it the way Dipper did.

* * *

Dinner cooked in the kitchen. Stan wasn’t much of a cook, but he did his best. Trying to remember how mom made it. Canned tomatoes, lots of ground pepper, some salt for good measure. And some baking soda to neutralize the acid. Dad had heartburn, and mom tried to get acid out of their food. He stirred the pasta frantically. Turning the heat down just before it boiled over. Stan sighed and swiped the sleeve of his suit over his forehead, soaking up the sweat. Cooking was hard work. He wondered how she did it every night.

“Stanley? What’s that I’m smelling?” Ford followed his nose into the kitchen. He gasped when he saw what Stan was making. “Is that mom’s pasta sauce?”

“I can’t guarantee it’ll be like hers. But you can either shut up and eat it or buzz off. Let’s hope this is edible.” Stan grumbled, hauling the pot over to drain into the waiting colander. The pasta water steamed up as it hit the bowl in the sink. Stan reeled back as his glasses instantly fogged up. He grunted and did his best to blindly drain the pasta.

Ford smiled softly and approached, taking the spoon and tasting the sauce. Salty, but passable. “I’ve got to admit, I’m impressed.” He said. “I know you don’t cook.”

“Well. What can I say? I thought about her today. I missed her. Never thought I’d say that.” Stan said the last part quietly.

Ford leaned against the countertops, and thought about his parents. Knowing how old they were, and the fact that he’d been living with Shermie’s grandkids, he knew they had to be over one hundred years old. Mom smoked and dad had heart problems since his 40’s. In all likelihood… He sighed. “Are they dead?” He asked.

Stan didn’t say anything at first. Then he grunted. “Yeah. While I was trying to get you back.”

Ford shut his eyes. He’d lost so much time. “Well, that’s to be expected. We’re old men now.” He tried to keep his emotions out of the sentence, but some of the words wavered as he said them.

“We don’t gotta pretend like we don’t have emotions.” Stan said, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I miss them too. I never said goodbye. Never saw them after I got kicked out.”

“Ugh.” Ford groaned, putting his face in his palm. “That was so stupid. I should have stopped them. You were their son. No matter what you did they shouldn’t have abandoned you like that.”

“I messed up really bad.” Stan admitted. “I did that several times. I’m really sorry. Honest.”

“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being mad at you.” Ford said. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I lost too much of it. I should have always realized how much you meant to me. Should have called you in college. I messed up too. Let’s just not mess up again.”

Stan hesitated, then pulled his brother into his arms. “Ah, what the heck. Not going to live forever, anyway.” He said, burying his head into Ford’s shoulder to hide his red face.

Ford returned the hug without a moment’s hesitation like Stan had. “Yeah.” He agreed.

The two brothers shared the moment, listening to the rain begin to fall outside. Stan hoped that after all this time, Wendy was right about their bond.

* * *

Dipper was tired of wearing these clothes. The pine green sweater and black pants Bill had put him into on the first day and never taken him out of. He was tired of pulling the collar away from his neck and pulling the sleeves up whenever he wanted to use his hands. After being in a t-shirt and shorts all summer, he couldn’t stand to be in anything else. He missed his thermal vest. He missed the weight of the journal resting in it. He missed having _pockets._ Even if he didn’t have anything to put in them here. He felt bare without them. And his hat. He wanted his hat back.

“Bill, are you ever going to give me my clothes back?” Dipper asked into the void of the familiar living room. Bill wasn’t in the room right now. Pacifying his demon’s downstairs. They were getting a little impatient, but they couldn’t defy the master of the castle.

Bill’s voice popped out of nowhere, without his body being present, something Dipper had long ago become accustomed to. “Why ever would I do that, Pine Tree?”

“Well, for one. It was very rude of you to take them without asking. I like my clothes.” He said patiently. He was also used to explaining human feelings and customs to the demon. Especially now that Bill had deigned to follow his advice some of the time. “People’s clothes are like… expressions of their personality. Like how Mabel wears bright colors and sequins. Or how Wendy wears lumberjack clothing all the time. Or Stan and his fez. It’s a reflection of their personalities…” With a pause, he added, “or how they’d like others to see their personalities.”

Bill gave a snort of laughter. “So, what’s your personality then? Outdoor dork?” Dipper rolled his eyes and let the demon devolve into a string of ridiculous giggling.

“I guess?” Dipper shrugged. “You also call me Pine Tree. You should give me my pine tree hat back.”

“Your last name is Pines.” Bill pointed out. “Besides, I like seeing your soul mark. That hat covers it. Very rude of you, by the way. Should I call you something else? Star Head, perhaps?”

“God, don’t.” Again, with the maniacal giggling. “Anyway, if I ever see other people again, I’m going to wear some kind of hat. And I really like the pine tree one.”

“Why do you have to cover up our soul mark?” Bill asked, and there was palpable irritation and anger in his voice. Finally, the demon rose from the floor into the room. The voice no longer disembodied.

“People don’t take kindly to it. Great uncle Ford had problems at school because of his hands. I learned that my birthmark was intolerable to the meanest kids at school.” Dipper brushed his fingers through his bangs. “So, now I always have a fringe. And a hat. Ones with brims are the best. Hides the mark, gives my eyes shade, and that pine tree hat has become really special to me.” He looked at the demon hopefully. “So if you can ever give it back to me, I’d be grateful.”

The demon sighed, turning away from the kid’s puppy eyes. Damn kid. He knew how he affected him. There was no other explanation for it. But then again, the kid was sincere. He was a terrible liar, Bill knew from experience, and an even worse actor. The kid wore his heart on his sleeve all the time. That’s just how he was. The dumb hat really meant that much to him.

But it meant a lot to _Bill_ that he show his mark with pride. He kept his sleeves rolled up all the time to show the glittering golden soul mark to anyone who wants to behold it. Before he hid it with black magic. But now that he’d met his soulmate and found him to be worthy, he didn’t think he could hide it ever again. Why couldn’t Dipper feel the same way?

He took another look at the kid. The clothes he’d picked out for the kid really suited him. Green was a good color on him. And the pants showed off the slim, fae-like figure he possessed. He didn’t really want to give him his dorky basketball shorts and virgin vest back. But clothes were _evidently_ part of a human’s identity. Did he want to strip Dipper of his personality? Bill _did_ find Dipper’s personality charming. He gave a long-suffering, theatrical sigh. Then with a snap, Dipper’s typical summer outfit was restored. Hat and all.

Dipper looked down his legs at the beat-up sneakers, realizing it had been forever since he’d worn shoes. Bill actually did it. He half expected the demon to refuse. And demand he cut his hair for good measure. To show off his mark. A surge of fuzzy affection softened Dipper at the edges. He stood, happy he could trust the demon, and gave the demon a chaste kiss on the cheek as a reward.

“Thank you.” He said softly.

Bill willed the heat away from his cheeks. He didn’t want to show that kind of weakness from just a little kiss. The kid would get bad ideas. He did allow himself a little grin though. Maybe it was worth letting the kid have his stupid hat.

“No problem, Pine Tree.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, Bill is becoming a softer, more trustworthy demon. Dumb. I love it. I'm so mushy and gay I can't stand it. Also, brotherly bonding for the Stans is some good shit. I hope to leave them at the end of this story with a new understanding and appreciation for each other. I want them to make up all their lost time. Because I think in the end, this story is about appreciating the people you love and all they have to offer you. Time, wisdom, happiness. You should relish in all of it. Bill is learning to, as are the Stans. And Mabel is learning that same lesson, in a much sadder, angstier way. I hope y'all enjoyed my bullshit!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm BACK on my bullshit. Welcome!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Bill tortures demons in this chapter. He's still a demon. He's still a force to be reckoned with. We're reminded of that

Bill sat at the front of the room. His legs crossed over one another, glaring at his subjects. In human form, he was incredibly small compared to his Henchmaniacs. But that didn’t do anything to lessen his intimidating aura or piercing gaze. The demons shuffled nervously under their leader’s scrutiny. They had called him down to ask about when he’d be finished with the human, but seeing how angry he was being interrupted made them all reconsider. Pyronica was just about to call the whole thing off. But 8-ball was brave enough, or perhaps stupid enough, to speak first.

“Boss. It’s been an Earth month since you stopped the party.” His underling pointed out. “Since then you’ve done nothing but play with your human pet. When will you be prepared to finish what you started? When are you going to let us do what you promised?! You’re wearing a human skin. You spend your days with him. We worry you grow too close to the mortals.”

Bill’s yellow eye flashed dangerously. And the demon fell silent. 8-ball cowered under the penetrating gaze of his boss. “Is that so? One Earth month?” Bill mimicked. He rose into the air, his movements were smooth and casual, too much so. His body language communicated danger to every demon in the Fearamid. They tensed, preparing for whatever horrible thing he might do next. “One Earth month spent with my soulmate, in comparison to the millennia I was deprived of his company? Human pet, you said?”

Quickly 8-ball realized his mistake. “Boss, I didn’t really—”

“No, I’m going to correct you. You clearly already realize your blunder. But you’ve all forgotten your place.” Bill sneered. He stepped forward, flames crawling up his arms as his demonic magic was drawn from within. He summoned a pool table, placed squarely in front of him. The balls were all set in place for a game. “Now, I’m aware you lowlife demons are utterly incapable of comprehending the most basic information. But I have a question that I believe even you wastes can answer. What is this table missing?”

Teeth observed the table. “Well, the 8-ball isn’t there.” He said nervously.

“Ah! How foolish of me!” Bill chuckled. “Well I can’t play my game without it. I’m sure any of you would be happy to provide.”

The demons murmured nervous agreement among themselves. “Well, 8-ball. You’re the man for the job. May I?”

8-ball was painfully clueless. Until he dropped to his knees with a pained howl. Bill held a new 8-ball in his hand, plucked straight from the other demon’s eye socket. Bill marveled at the black ball. “This will do.” He said, placing it with the other balls. The Henchmaniacs clenched their fists at their sides, trying to remain calm in the face of Cipher’s threat.

“You see, you have made not one, but _several_ mistakes.” Bill continued, striking the billiard ball, sending the colored balls rolling over the green surface of the game table. “You have questioned my authority. You’re insinuated my weakness. And you’ve forgotten your place.” He leaned against the pool table with a great, evil grin on his face. “Dipper Pines is not my pet. You are. And what kind of owner would I be if I didn’t train you properly?”

With a little snap of his fingers, 8-ball was dragged across the floor towards Bill. The demon clawed at the floor to try and fight the inevitable. But all he got for his efforts were torn claws. Bill sneered at the demon at his feet like he was shit on his shoe. He knelt down with a sigh. 8-ball looked through his remaining eye and saw the simmering power trapped within the human skin the other wore. Bill Cipher was a being of pure energy with no limits and no patience left. 8-ball cowered and groveled, hoping if he was sufficiently pathetic, the demon would take pity on him. He took pity on a human, after all.

“There’s no pity with my human.” Bill said, irritated with the other demon’s train of thought. “Tell me, 8-ball. What should I do to my disobedient pet? Because I have some ideas. Make it quick. The History and Documentary channel is showing a piece on Egyptian mythology tonight, so I’ve got plans.”

“We’ve followed your orders! I’ve followed your orders! No bothering the humans. I’ve stayed inside. Forgive me.” 8-ball begged desperately.

Bill snickered. “Forgiveness? Oh man, you really _do_ think I’ve gotten weaker. I’d think you’re joking, but your jokes always were terrible.” He reached down, wrapping his hand around one of 8-balls long ears, and pulled until it was torn straight off the side of the demon’s head. The demon shrieked horribly. Bill fused his mouth shut instantly. “Ugh. Don’t do that. You know how I love the screams, but I don’t want the fleshbag to hear.”

There was no empathy. Or joy. Bill sighed as if he were performing a particularly tedious chore as he tore 8-balls appendages off at random. Ripping limbs off and tossing them casually over his shoulder like weeds in a garden. He used 8-ball’s severed hand to scratch his chin. “Hmm. It’s see, nose, ears, legs, arms. Anything else? I could pop your head off like a cork in a bottle.”

8-ball wished he could protest. Bill grinned, holding up the demon’s dripping tongue in his hand. “Oops. Triangle got your tongue?”

Okay. So maybe he was enjoying this. Sue him.

One half of the demon’s face was covered in tears, leaking from the remaining eye. Green teardrops fell to the floor, the acid burning little holes in the black marble floor. Bill considered what his next move should be. He could leave his underling alone. Trust that he learned his lesson and take mercy on him.

But mercy was a word Bill wasn’t familiar with.

8-ball writhed in agony on the floor, trying to escape the searing pain of his flesh being peeled away from the bone. There was power in Bill’s eyes. The mad power of someone who had mastery over reality and used it to crush those weaker than him. The pure joy of someone who reveled in causing others pain. Bill watched with mad glee, using his supernatural strength to rip flesh away from the demon. Rows of ribs were exposed. Acidic blood burned Bill’s human skin. Burned his hands away. He instantly grew another pair, grinning while he watched his own body regenerate. Bones growing, muscle wrapping around the skeletal structure, and skin stretching taut over his new hands.

“Pain is hilarious!” Bill laughed, and even he wasn’t sure if he was talking about his own, or 8-ball’s. He went back into it, pulling various organs out of his Henchmaniac’s open chest cavity. These weren’t human body parts, Bill relished in crushing each in his fist. Popping them like the delightful bubble wrap Dipper introduced him to. Yes. That was the analogy for this. Bill pulled another squishy part out. His hands sizzled and melted into 8-balls chest. He grew another pair.

He took a tight grip around a length of bone, and began to pull. Painstakingly ripping it from it’s place in 8-ball’s body. He heard snaps as it separated itself from the ribs, and wet squelches as it ripped through flesh. 8-ball wasn’t screaming. Just gasping and convulsing as his spine was ripped out of his body.

Bill laughed hysterically, straightening out the bone and leaning on it like he would his cane. “Wow. Sucks to be you.”

He looked up at his Henchmaniacs, but they weren’t meeting his eyes. They looked down at their feet, not meeting his gaze, like children being yelled at. Bill smiled happily at their compliance. He clapped his hands twice, using his magic to force them down to their knees. They dropped to their elbows as well, of their own volition. Prostrating themselves before him. It must have looked very strange. A gaggle of monsters kneeling in front of a human. Bill’s grin twisted with malicious humor. Benefits of occupying a flesh suit.

“Remember. Though I have a human face, I’m still the capricious god of time, matter, and space you feared.” Bill reminded his followers. “I razed dimensions. I killed billions. No kid is capable of changing what I am.”

With that, the demon rose through the ceiling, leaving to rejoin his human. Paci-Fire and Kryptos approached 8-balls bloodied form.

“He’s _alive_.” Pyronica breathed.

The demons nodded in agreement. They dared not say it out loud, but they knew now it wasn’t true that Bill had been softened by his human. At least not for his bloodlust. But the human had somehow redirected it. That Bill Cipher was wrapped around some naïve little kid’s finger. They all silently promised to never cross the human who wielded the most dangerous weapon in the multiverse.

Upstairs, Dipper turned large, suspicious brown eyes on the smiling demon who had appeared out of the floor. “What are you holding behind your back?”

“Just a gift. Nothing special.” Bill slipped the spine in his hand into a pocket dimension and instead presented the kid with a dumb board game he saw in his dreams.

The kid gasped, eyes glittering. “Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons! Do you want to play with me?”

“Kid, I’m a being of energy and geometry.” Bill bragged. “I’ll play your dumb nerd game any day. And kick your ass at it.”

Dipper grinned at the challenge. “Bring it on!”

The two soulmates settled into a game while the demons downstairs attempted to piece together their friend. Bill smiled, looking out the window. It was a beautiful day.

* * *

The school year was starting soon. Mark and Erin were still arguing about what they should do. They didn’t know if they should take Mabel back to Piedmont without Dipper and start her at school there, or stay here until Dipper came home, enrolling her at Gravity Falls Highschool. Stan personally wanted his niece to stay with him forever. Besides, Dipper didn’t seem particularly happy back in California. Mark wanted to get back to work. Erin insisted they couldn’t leave without their children. Both of them. Mabel seemed to be gone more and more. Even Stan and Wendy were having a hard time finding her now.

One night, Stan was sitting in front of the TV, Pitt soda in one hand and remote in the other. Suddenly, before he realized what was happening, both hands were full of Mabel Pines. He wrapped his arms tightly around his niece. Pulling her off the edge of his recliner and into his lap. Brown hair tickled his nose when she hid her face away in his chest.

“Hey, Pumpkin.” He said, sweet and soft as possible with his rough old voice. “What’s up with my greatest great-niece?”

“They’re going to make me go home without him.” Mabel muttered. “You gotta stop them, Grunkle Stan. You can’t let them take me away.”

Stan winced. “Sweetie, it’s not that easy. They’re your parents. That’s a lot of complicated business, but they have something called ‘power of attorney’ over you. Since you’re underage, you can’t take care of yourself.” He explained. “Your parents are responsible for your wellbeing. If they say going back to California is what’s best for you, there’s not much I can do.”

“That’s not fair!” She wailed. Stan hushed his niece, petting her hair while she let her emotions out. “They’re trying to separate me from my bro-bro! I’ve never gone to school without him. And high school is going to be _so hard._ I don’t know if I can do it without him. I’m not as smart as Dipper.”

“You are every bit as smart as your brother.” Stan said firmly. “You picked a grappling hook out of my gift shop instead of a glittery snow globe. That thing saved your butt several times. I’ve watched you plan parties with two hundred people in attendance in one day. You kicked a unicorn’s ass. I watched you knit a sweater in ten minutes. You just apply your talents differently.” Mabel smiled softly into Stan’s chest, and Stan breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re the sweetest girl in the world, Pumpkin. You might not know it yet, but you don’t need Dipper.”

Ford quietly entered the room, sitting down beside them and watching Stan rock Mabel back and forth like a restless baby. “But I want him.” Mabel whimpered. “It’s my fault he’s gone.”

“What?” Stan said. “No, no that’s not true.”

“I gave Bill the rift.” Mabel admitted, no small amount of guilt tainting her voice. “There’s a time traveler friend me and Dipper had. And he promised me summer forever. Because I thought Dipper was going to take a dumb apprenticeship with Grunkle Ford. I was being so dumb and selfish.”

“Mabel, he’s a demon. He tricked you.” Ford joined. “He tricked me when I was a full-grown adult. You never should have had the rift in the first place. It was foolish of me to give it to Dipper in the first place… and even more foolish to hide it from you. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you could handle it. But if you knew what the danger was, you wouldn’t have given it to him. Mabel, I’m sorry. It was my selfishness that brought this. Every time. Never yours.”

“Ford’s a genius, but he’s just like the other dumb smart people, self-absorbed.” Stan agreed. “We can’t stop your parents from taking you. But I wouldn’t ever let them hurt you. Don’t worry about what grown-ups are doing. We don’t know either.”

Ford leaned over the armrest and kissed Mabel’s head. “I found a spell that might give us information on Dipper.” He said quietly. “We’re getting closer. I promise, Mabel.”

Mabel sighed. “When I see Dipper again… I’m gonna make mac and cheese.”

Stan tucked his brother and niece deeper into his arms. Sharing some boxed mac and cheese sounded great right now. Even more so with his favorite great-nephew. Hopefully Ford’s nerd-tastic antics paid off this time. Seeing his family smile over cheap pasta was all he wanted right now. “Great idea, sweetie.”

* * *

Dipper leaned against his demon, and sighed sadly. He’d just watched a segment about ancient Egypt with Bill. They talked briefly about how the ancient Egyptians held cats in high esteem. They were the caretakers of cats, a task their Goddess Bastet demanded their assistance in. The penalties for injuring or killing cats were severe. They worshipped a goddess who was half cat. It got him thinking about Mabel, and how much she would have loved to hear that. But he couldn’t tell her right now.

“What’s wrong, kid?” The demon asked.

“Do you think… I can ever see my sister again?” Dipper asked timidly.

Bill frowned. Ah, yes. The Pines twin connection. He supposed he should be grateful to Shooting Star. Pine Tree here _sold_ himself for her. But that also meant that if she was ever in danger again, Dipper would throw himself in whatever awful danger he could imagine for her. He scoffed, thinking about that selfish girl. Dipper gave everything for her. He never recalled one sacrifice she made in return for her brother. He couldn’t put Dipper at risk. Being around that reckless girl. The only demon he could sell himself to was _him._

“No dice, kid.” Bill said. “We had a deal.”

Dipper sighed. He’d expected that. He did make a deal. And Bill held up on his end. Mabel was safe. That was all he could ever really ask for. But still… he missed his sister. Dipper bit his lip and turned away to wipe his tears.

Bill raged at the sight of Dipper’s tears. He’d expected this. He should have expected this. Why was he so angry? Was he angry at Dipper for being a weak, emotional human? Angry at Dipper for loving a stupid mortal girl more than he cared for him? Or was he _mad_ at _himself_ for hurting his favorite human? He was just… in a snit. He didn’t have to examine the reasons why. At least Dipper had the decency to hide his tears. The kid made a deal. A binding deal to stay with him forever. He knew that if the kid saw his sister, and what a wreck she was without him, he’d try to break the deal. He’d never bond with him.

But Dipper. Kept. Crying.

He didn’t seem capable of stopping it. Tears fell down the mortal’s face whether he liked it or not. Bill turned his eyes towards the ceiling, trying to ignore it. But then he just heard the sniffling. He fortified his heart. Nope. No. Not happening. He wasn’t giving up infinite power in the form of a Soul Bond just for a few mortal tears.

Damn it.

“Dipstick, we had a deal. Deals are binding with demons. But I can make another deal on top of it.” Bill said. Dipper turned towards him. And there were glittery little tears in his big brown eyes. Shit. “When we finish our Bond, you can visit your sister. Regularly if you want. After we finish the Bond.”

Dipper sniffled pathetically. Bill cringed again at the human tears. Ugh. What are these awful feelings? “Promise?”

“Kid, never trust a promise from a demon. Trust a deal.” He held out his hand, blue flames flickering over his forearm. “Do we have a deal?”

This was the only chance of ever seeing his sister again. Dipper took the demon’s hand without consideration. “Deal.” The flames were on Dipper, and then they subsided. Deal made. “So how do we finish the Bond?”

“We’re not ready to finish it yet.” Bill said. “There’s no sign we’ve reached that stage yet. But we have a good start, if that makes you happy.”

Dipper groaned. He wanted to see Mabel. “When will we be ready to move on?”

“When one of us starts showing signs.” Bill said cryptically. “I will gain your strength. You will gain mine. Then we will be ready to complete the Bond.”

“Well. We better start Bonding.” Dipper said.

Bill cackled. “Kid, I appreciate your eagerness. But we have a good start. We just have to learn from each other. I learned to like rain, you learned to appreciate my devastating charm— stop rolling your eyes. You taught me about Animal Planet, and we’re getting to know each other. We have to make an emotional connection. You can’t rush that.”

“Ugh. If only Mabel was here. She’s an expert at rushing emotional connections!”

“Kid, we’re binding our souls together. Your sister’s talent for sucking people into her life like a sarlacc pit won’t help here.”

“Ha! You _were_ paying attention to Star Wars!”

“Pine Tree. I’ve been through the multiverse. I’ve seen infinite dimensions. Have you considered I was referencing a real pit and not your dumb movie garbage?”

“Woah! Tell me about that right now!” Dipper begged. Bill chuckled. So easily distracted. Forget that Pines girl. She never indulged his interests. Not his math game, or his nerd movies, or his love of the magic forest. But Bill would knock his socks off. Because Bill was better than his sister. He’d prove that to him. With time.

“Alright. Where to start…?”

* * *

Bill woke from one of his weekly naps. In his triangular form he never needed to sleep. But this human form took some energy to maintain. While he could usually do it no sweat, he did need to take the occasional nap. It was infuriating. But he could put up with it for Pine Tree’s sake. The sun streamed in from the window, lighting up Dipper’s sleeping form on the couch. He blinked once. Twice. Looking at the kid. Ah, this was one of those fleeting moments of beauty that mortals enjoyed so much.

Honeyed sunlight fell on Dipper’s face. He looked like the cherubs humans painted on cathedral ceilings. If only they knew what real cherubs looked like. Not nearly as good as Dipper did right now. Curls fell off his face and onto the pillows, creating a beautiful halo beneath him. His soul mark was fully shown on his forehead. Parted pink lips looked particularly enticing to the demon.

He wanted to kiss his human.

They hadn’t done it yet. But Dipper was comfortable with all other kids of human intimacy now. Cuddling, holding hands, hugs, shoving and slapping him when he tickled the human. What’s the difference between that and pressing their fleshy mouth flaps together? Bill looked at the human. He shifted slightly in his sleep. His fingers twitched. His face furrowed then relaxed back into sleep. In the golden sunlight, Bill could see faint freckles on the kid’s face.

Bill hesitated. Honestly hesitated. But he’d never before denied himself the pursuit of what he wanted. Why should he stop now? He powered through and went in for a kiss.

Only for the kid to turn his head at the last second. Bill’s lips planted firmly on his cheek. Damn it! Thwarted. Dipper groaned sleepily and stirred, opening his eyes for the first time that day. Bill didn’t move, frozen like a deer in the headlights, until Dipper tensed up.

“What… are you doing?”

Bill pulled his lips away from the kid’s face and gave him his most charming grin. “Good morning.” He purred, like this was his plan all along. “Sleep well?”

“Uh...” Dipper was sweating. He did that a lot when he was nervous. Like a skittish little animal. Bill tried to hold in his perverse delight. “Yeah. I guess. Tell me you weren’t trying to like, actually kiss me?”

“No! Of course not.” Bill lied quickly. “Want you to be awake and begging for it.”

Dipper couldn’t hide his red face in time. It happened so fast. Bill grinned. His human meatsack gave him away every time. “G-good. I haven’t kissed anyone before.” Dipper stuttered. “I think…”

“You think?” Bill said darkly. Only _he_ could kiss Pine Tree without permission.

“First of all, you said that out loud. You can’t kiss me without permission. That violates consent. Same with sex and other forms of intimate contact. Because humans have the right to have control over their own bodies.” This was news to Bill. He made note of that. Didn’t want to piss off his Pine Tree. “Second of all, it was some merman CPR. I don’t know if it even counts.”

“Oh that? No.” Bill said disinterestedly. Thank god. He could still have the kid’s first. That’s a thing that apparently mattered to him now. What kind of demon was he anyway? This kid turned him into a monster. A lame, sappy monster.

“Oh, good.” Dipper breathed a sigh of relief. “It was gross! And weird. First kisses are supposed to be special. I wanted to give mine to—not him.”

Bill felt another flare of unwarranted irritation. Right. Ice. That redheaded teenager who dragged Dipper into her teenage nonsense all the time. He’d make Dipper forget all about _her_ too.

“You hungry, kid?” Bill asked. He summoned a cup of tea and a plate of pancakes for Dipper. The kid ate quickly. Bill stood back, watching his human eat. He _felt_ himself getting closer with Dipper. Every day. The human might not be aware. Except for the normal fluttery, affectionate feelings in his chest. But they were getting closer. Soon it would be time for the consummation. Dipper will have tied their souls together and fallen in love with him. And then… he guessed he’d continue what he started. Finish Weirdmaggedon and rule over a cowering clump of helpless mortals. Yeah.

That’s what he wanted.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you noticed I've finally figured out how many chapters I want this to have! This is good shit. Also, I'm not entirely sure what period of England "The Duchess Approves" takes place in. They were clearing going for a timeless old English feel. But I said Elizabethan. The early second Elizabethan era. The one we're living in right now. She looks like old queen Elizabeth but it doesn't matter. Anyway. Here we go!

Dipper, he decided, had become too comfortable with Bill.

That is to say, the guy is an interdimensional space demon. He watched the demon turn his town upside down. He saw him sit on a throne made out of his frozen friends. Dipper ran from the demon while he was _chasing him down to kill him._ He recalled the memories of Bill turning his Grunkle to gold and taunting him with it. His own family. He remembered these things.

Why couldn’t he hate him for it?

It was kind of hard to hate the demon when he wore the face of a stunningly attractive human being. Hard to remember the threats of disassembled molecules when he looked at the kicked-puppy pout of a demon denied cuddles. It was impossible to hate someone after you felt the soft, gentle graze of their lips against your cheek.

Dipper was… attracted to a demon. He cringed at the mere thought. Why him?

Soulmates. Destiny. Why couldn’t the universe have picked literally anyone else? Why did he have to be saddled with the most dangerous demon in existence for the rest of his life? Why did he have to like him? He wished he could just hate the demon. That would be far more—dignified. Dipper huffed in irritation. Bill was currently making himself busy with the television. The demon seemed to have taken an interest in the thing as a means of learning about mortals…. Though he’s not sure how realistic the things he learned were. He seemed to really like those period pieces that Grunkle Stan pretended not to watch. The ones about old-timey English ladies and their dramatic romantic endeavors. Evidently Gravity Falls TV channels played _The Duchess Approves_ often. Bill had watched it seven times so far. It was… sort of charming. He watched the movie with Bill, and after seeing it, he saw the appeal. But he also saw the ironic humor in the idea that Grunkle Stan and Bill Cipher were obsessed with a black and white drama about Elizabethan ladies.

It was hard to hate a demon who liked _The Duchess Approves._

He smirked behind the blanket while he watched Bill get sucked deep into the plot of the movie for the _eighth time._ Bill looked so incredibly human. It wasn’t just the human body he inhabited. It was the passion, and the way he was curled up on the couch. No more loose-limbed confidence and cool lounging. Before Bill Cipher acted like the emperor of the universe. Now on the velvet couch, Dipper thought he very much looked like Wendy on movie night. The frosted tips he once thought were ridiculous were actually quite attractive. Dipper rolled his eyes. It was still ridiculous that a demon had frosted tips.

But… maybe it wasn’t _so_ horrible.

Damn it.

The demon was growing on him.

Dipper sighed, leaning back against the headrest of the couch and bunching the pillow between the crook of his neck and shoulder. He turned to face the TV. Bill laughed beside him, and it sounded far less cruel than the laughs Dipper always imagined when he thought of Cipher. So full of actual humor. It made Dipper’s heart do a thing uncomfortably close to fluttering. He watched the Duchess smirk over her teacup at the Count Lionel of Cornwall. Bill whistled at her coy flirting.

Dipper rolled his eyes again. Okay. Maybe he _did_ know why Bill and Stan liked this movie so much.

Tired, he closed his eyes. It wouldn’t hurt to rest them for a bit.

But he slipped into sleep so easily. The way people always do when they promise to “rest their eyes for a few minutes.” It wasn’t long until his breathing evened out and his body relaxed into sleep. Allowing his mind to turn off for a little while.

Dipper woke up in the dreamscape. He expected the Mystery Shack, but instead he was in a place that was empty. It was dark, but not pitch black. It was like the sky in the far north. A dark indigo, with the pale light of the moon. But there was no moon in sight. Flashes of color, like the aurora borealis filtered occasionally through the atmosphere. But it was different. Like more of a mist than a ray of light. Everything here seemed kind of gaseous in texture. Dipper frowned.

“What is this place?” Dipper asked aloud. No voice answered him. But something, something in his mind answered.

_You’re in the dreamscape. This is what it is before dreams take shape._

“But the dream should have formed before I got here. Why am I in the void between?”

_Because this place is within your power now._

“I’m a mortal. Mortals don’t have power over this place.”

_You are a mortal. But this power is not the ability of mortals. It’s your power now._

Dipper swiped his hand through the matter surrounding him. Despite the gaseous appearance, it felt like running his hands through water. Both in texture and resistance. Weird. “Is this because Bill is my soulmate?”

 _Yes._ Dipper ran his hands through the air again, trying to swim like he would through water. But he didn’t go anywhere. He was stuck in one place. Unable to walk without solid ground. Unable to swim or fly through it.

“I’m stuck here.”

_You are not. This is your kingdom now. You just need to learn how to rule. Try to create things, like he did. You are capable of pulling concepts out through the void. This place understands your power, and obeys you in turn._

What was he supposed to create? Dipper’s head swam at the possibilities. It was all so overwhelming. Thinking of every object in the universe and knowing that he could probably make anything. A bike, a lightbulb, a pillow. A fridge, a hotdog cart, a robot! No, god, he was overthinking things. Start simple.

Dipper held his hand out, and snow cone fell out of the void into his hand. An exhilarated breath escaped through Dipper’s clenched teeth. Hissing as it went. This was crazy. What was he supposed to do with this?

“How do I move?” He asked.

_You can make the path. You make snow cone. Make ground to walk on._

A path. Dipper wondered what kind of path. Brick? Cobblestone? Dirt? It would be weird to see a dirt path without any grass or trees around it. Dipper breathed steadily, and summoned a brick path to follow. To his own surprise, the path was bright yellow. Not what he intended. But he supposed he didn’t specify any color.

 _Follow the yellow brick road._ The voice said, amused.

“Shut up.” Dipper hissed. He pushed a foot out, nervously putting his weight on it bit by bit. He half expected the thing to collapse out underneath him. Or for him to fall through it. But it was just as sure under his feet as the earth was in reality. Dipper began to walk at a normal pace, following the path. “Where am I going?”

_Everywhere… and nowhere. Maybe in circles. Maybe running in place like a treadmill. You have no destination in mind. So you’re wandering aimlessly like a ghost in an empty house._

“Who are you?”

_I am no one. I am you; I am not you. I am the informant of this place. It has been a very long time since I have talked in a mortal’s ear._

“Can I trust you?” Dipper asked.

_I am not Cipher. Nor demon, mortal, or god. I have no motives. I have no form. There is nothing to distrust._

“Nothing to trust, either.”

_Cipher has damaged you. He has used this place to damage many. Your trust is not easily given anymore._

“I still don’t understand why I can control this place.” Dipper shook his head. “Or why you can… talk to me.”

_Cipher controls the dreamscape. Cipher’s soul and strength is yours. Yours is his. You are sharing in it now._

“So the bond is working?” Dipper asked eagerly.

_Your souls knit. This cannot be undone. He is the ruler of this place. You, his consort. Your power over this place is yours._

Dipper felt his heart race, detached from himself. He was vaguely aware that he was in some way still tied to his body. “This means I can go home to my sister soon.”

_Home is here. If you can find it._

“It’s the middle of the day. I couldn’t find my way there. I don’t know how to navigate.” Dipper said sadly. “It would take practice. Probably a lot of it. I might sooner get home by finishing the bond than finding Mabel in here. Besides, it’s daytime now. I doubt she’s asleep.”

 _You can always ask me for help._ The entity promised. _You should wake. Cipher is going to bother you. Some electronic entertainment is scheduled soon._

“Thank you… I’ll tell him. About this.” Dipper said.

 _That’s your decision to make._ Cryptic. Why wouldn’t he tell him? For a moment he was nervous. Afraid of the unknown. He really took “trust no one” to heart ever since reading it in the journal. But what was the harm? Bill would obviously be the best person to ask about this. He decided to tell Bill anyway.

“Well, I guess I’ll… see you later?”

_See me? I have no form to show. However you may meet me again anytime. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mason Pines._

Dipper snapped awake, sitting up with a start. Bill’s yellow eye rolled over to look at him, briefly taking his eyes off the screen. Most of the movie was over. It felt like he’d only been asleep for a few minutes. But if the length of the movie was anything to go by, it had been an hour. “What’s got you so worked up?” Bill asked. There was that ever-casual drawl, but also a hidden tone of interest.

He hesitated. Again, his trust issues tugged at his heart. But Bill hadn’t really done anything wrong since making that deal with him. “I uh…” Dipper cleared his throat. “I visited the dreamscape.”

Bill’s eye flashed, but the light was quickly gone. “You mean you had a dream?” He asked.

“No. I mean I saw the dreamscape. No dream.” Dipper clarified. Now Bill’s attention was focused on his soulmate. The demon leaned in close, examining Dipper in a way that suggested he wasn’t really looking at his physical form alone. The boy felt oddly vulnerable, curling up defensively.

“That’s rather odd.” Bill said smoothly. “Not something every mortal does in their lifetime.”

“Someone said that it was your power. A power I was sharing with you. Or something like that.” Dipper frowned. “They weren’t really clear. Everything they said was… half-finished.”

“She’s like that.” Bill said.

“She? You know _her?_ ” Dipper put emphasis on the pronoun.

“I don’t know her name. Or a ton about her. Never got to know her. She was the last guardian of the realm. The one I ruthlessly crushed to gain power over her world.” Bill said this with an uncomfortable amount of pride. “She’s like a dream. She suggests things, but never quite finishes them. She’s fickle and whimsical. Don’t really like that about her. But what’s really interesting is what she said. You’re sharing my powers?”

“Yes. It’s a soulmate thing, right?” Dipper asked eagerly. “A sign that the bond is getting closer to being done?”

“Yes.” Bill purred, visibly pleased. Dipper was buzzing with excitement. He was getting closer to going home! The demon’s eyes raked up and down, drinking in the flushed visage of his soulmate with an unfamiliar thrill heating his blood. “It shouldn’t be very long now.”

Dipper did something for the first time. He threw his arms around Bill.

The demon was rooted to the spot. Nothing in the universe could have moved him from his soulmate’s arms. Dipper had never initiated contact between them like this before. Bill felt a shiver travel down his spine. The arms tightened around him, and his chest contracted pleasantly. He felt oddly secure in the grip of his soulmate. He suspected that it would have been crushing if the kid had more upper body strength. Just something Bill got to look forward to as Dipper aged. Bill reciprocated quickly, enclosing the kid in his arms possessively. Dipper gave the most pleasing little sigh of contentment.

Bill’s mind quietly worked around the information Dipper gave him. He was already gaining the powers of a demon. What sort of new powers did he have? Could he pass the unicorn barrier at the Mystery Shack now? Could he bypass the town’s barrier? Was his magic more powerful? He’d have to test the limits of his powers. Maybe he’d step into another dimension the next time the kid slept and vaporize some meaningless planet. Or he’d pay his Henchmaniacs another visit. He grinned at the thought and hid it in Dipper’s shoulder. He wondered how 8-ball was doing.

The movie was coming to a close. The wedding was wrapping up when the Duchess decided to live her life free. She didn’t need to be married. She didn’t need a man. When it came to matters of love, only she could decide.

“Well you should get some more sleep, kid. I’ll show you around the dreamscape. If you want.”

Dipper’s eyes went wide in his excitement. It was infectious. Bill’s face easily took on a grin. “Really?” The kid asked.

“Sure, lay down with me.”

Dipper and Bill fell onto the couch together. Legs tangled around each other, Dipper’s head tucked itself under Bill’s chin, Bill’s hand knotted itself in Dipper’s curls. Their eyes slid shut.

Maybe bonding wasn’t so bad after all.

* * *

“So how will this powder help us figure out what to do about Dipper?” Stan asked, sticking his finger into the bowl to inspect it.

Ford smacked his brother’s hand far harder than necessary. “Don’t touch that! This is alchemy. It should give us a viewing portal into the Fearamid. With this, some mercury, and a bit of Dipper’s hair, we can see him! This is just some sulfur, some salt, and—”

“Yeah, yeah, magic nerd shit. Alright, show me the kid.” Stan had Mabel up in his arms, resting on his hip so that she could see.

Ford rolled his eyes at his brother. He handed some protective masks to his family members. They complied in putting them on, covering their mouths, noses, and eyes. Then Ford proceeded to pour the ingredients in together as promised. The smell was awful, dulled by the filtration on the masks. When he tossed in a few locks of Dipper’s hair into the concoction, it spit fire. Stan reeled back, covering his niece’s head with his free hand. The flame quickly subsided, leaving a pool of liquid that in no way looked like mercury or any of the other powdery bullshit Ford had mixed into it. The surface of the liquid was as smooth as glass. Stan uncovered Mabel’s head and they both leaned forward. All of them gasped in recognition.

Dipper was there, safe and sound. His hat laid on the floor next to a couch. He was wrapped up in the arms of an unfamiliar human. One with tan skin and dyed blond hair. Wearing a black suit and yellow vest. Stan furrowed his brow.

“Is that supposed to be Bill?” He asked his brother.

Ford nodded. “Bill has a physical form. He can change that physical form to look like whatever he wants it to. Having a human form would be more conducive to establishing a romantic relationship with another human.”

“He’s holding him.” Mabel pointed out. “They’re sleeping together.”

“Clothed.” Stan noted with audible relief.

“Yes, but it’s not a great sign.” Ford frowned. “There’s something strange going on. Look at Dipper. Do you see that?”

Stan squinted his eyes. Damn his cataracts. Dipper was just sleeping. But there was a faint blue glow around him. The light flickered and wavered like candlelight. Yeah… or like fire.

“It’s like when Bill shakes hands with people. The blue flames.” Mabel said.

“Yes. Dipper is exhibiting demonic powers.” Ford explained.

“Does that mean Bill is possessing him?” Stan grunted. He didn’t like that at all. Not one bit.

“It could be. Or it could be a sign that the Bond is forming.” Ford sighed. “I told you that the reason Bill wanted Dipper was to gain power. By knitting their souls together, they share in the full potential of their combined strength. For Bill, that means double the raw power he already has. For Dipper, that means some magical ability. Like controlling the dreamscape, mage powers, maybe reversing gravity. Who knows? I don’t think this has ever happened before. A demon of Bill’s caliber bonding with a mortal like Dipper.”

“Wait, so like, Dipper’s going to be magic?” Mabel asked, wide eyes glimmering with some kind of excitement.

“Yes. I think it’s almost guaranteed he will be. If he actually Bonds with Bill Cipher.” Ford shook his head. “But magic is dangerous. I’d rather not have that kind of stress on my heart.”

Mabel blew a raspberry. “Dipper’s the most responsible, boring, safety-driven guy I know! If anyone is going to handle magic, it’s him. Oh, look! They’re moving.”

Stan’s eyes were instantly drawn back to the looking glass. Indeed, Dipper was shifting. His eyes fluttered but didn’t open quite yet. Bill’s arms shifted around his nephew, and Stan felt a surge of protective irritation seeing the way Bill scratched slightly at the nape of Dipper’s neck. Felt annoyed watching Dipper nuzzle into the demon’s chest. Bill smiled sweetly, planting a kiss on Dipper’s head. Stan growled at that. And Bill’s sweet smile turned sour fast. He gave an evil little grin, his eyes opening and looking _right at Stan._ Then there was another burst of flames, and the viewing portal burnt out.

Ford sighed. “I knew that would happen eventually. Bill knows when he’s being watched. He’s the all-seeing eye after all.” Ford picked up the bowl and threw it in a biohazard bin.

“He’s fucking with me!” Stan roared. “That polygon bastard! I’ll rip his eye out!”

“Won’t do any good. It’s up to Dipper now. We probably can’t reach him before the Bond is finished.” Ford said sadly. “They’re too far along. We can only hope Dipper convinces Bill to have mercy on humanity.”

“What?! You’re giving up?! You no-good cowardly—”

“At this rate they’ll be done with the Bond in three days. A week at most. Even if I poured all the time I have into finding a solution between now and then, I’d never get to Dipper in time. I failed.” Ford said miserably. Stan wanted to punch his brother. But Mabel reached up, her little hand caressing Ford’s stubble in a manner she hoped was comforting. Ford leaned into the contact and sighed.

“You promised you’d get him back.” Mabel said. The tone wasn’t accusatory, but Ford still flinched. “It’s not over when they finish the Bond. You can still keep going. As long as Dipper’s alive, there’s still a chance. Please don’t give up on my brother, Grunkle Ford.”

Mabel’s eyes were so wide and earnest. She looked just like Dipper. God, he couldn’t say no to his little angel. Especially not when he was looking into the face of the boy he was currently failing. He wouldn’t fail her too.

He ruffled his niece’s hair gently. “I’ll get him back if it’s the last thing I do.” Ford promised.

The beaming smile Mabel gave him was worth the sleepless night he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is the old diety of the dreamscape an interesting concept? Yep! Do I plan to elaborate further in the story? Nope! The rest of the story is about Dipper and Bill babeyyyy! But make of her what you will. Maybe you can use the idea for your own stories. I'm always hyped to inspire people!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh GOD what has my life become. Ah this shit is wild

Bill Cipher slipped into the dreamscape. Things were going all according to plan. Dipper was exhibiting some small-time demonic powers. He could summons things in the dreamscape and make paths to walk on. Not the most efficient way to move through it, but it was a solution in the meantime. He could make Bill’s trademark indigo flames in the place called “reality,” but he didn’t seem to know how to make deals. Dipper was capable of beginners’ magical powers. He’d probably be very good, with practice. He just needed to guide and mold his soulmate into a fantastic mage. Just another bonding activity. He allowed himself a small smile. There was something he loved about the dreamscape. It was a place where his powers truly thrived. The old guardian didn’t know how to use her dimension to it’s full potential. And being in a form that required no energy to maintain was freeing. He flew effortlessly through the matter, exploring to find a hapless mortal’s dreams to terrorize. If he was lucky, one of the _other_ Pines were asleep right now.

 _Cipher. Welcome back to our world._ She said.

“Ugh. What’s up, sweetheart?” Bill scoffed. “Could you not bother me right now? This is my vacation.”

_How is the Dreamer?_

“Mason. Dipper. Pine Tree. Dreamer could be anyone.” Bill swept an eye over one bubble in the dreamscape. No. Just another townsperson. Seemed to be that diner woman. How her filthy business stayed afloat Bill couldn’t fathom. Probably had something to do with being one of the only restaurants in town. The fact that people survived in this stupid hick town was a miracle.

_The Dreamer is a new ruler of the realm. We haven’t had a new one in ages. Yet, it seems only yesterdream. The Dreamer is special. The Dreamer is your new dream._

“My new dream.” Bill deadpanned. But he knew exactly what she was talking about. Nosy woman. He wished he hadn’t destroyed her form. Wished he had the pleasure of destroying her again.

 _No longer do you dream of destroying the waterfall of the mystic forest. Now you dream of a life there with your Dreamer._ Her voice was more emotional than Bill had heard it in ages. Wistful. _It is a beautiful dream. A rose-gold dream with soft edges. I see it without eyes. Feel it without hands. You should be proud of your dream._

“Well, Gravity Falls is only a sandbox. Inconsequential. I could keep it sectioned off for my soulmate to live in while I salt the rest of the Earth.” Bill conceded.

 _Your dream of destruction has ended, Cipher._ She said, and she sounded so sure. It pissed Bill off.

“You have no dreams, sweetheart.” Bill taunted. “You are a phantom living in a world I took from you. My destruction never stopped. You are just another victim I crushed underfoot. And I’ll crush everyone else too.”

 _Your Dreamer survives your foot. Victims escape your path; he saved his counterpart from a nightmare of your making. Gives himself to you freely for her dreams. Your destruction is not absolute. It is a dream you nearly realized, but many dreams come to an end before their completion._ She paused, waiting for his rage. _I prefer your new dream. This Dreamer is your new victory. See your new dream to its completion. It is more rewarding than the last._

Bill didn’t deign that with an answer. Because he had nothing better to say. But she would never let the smug bitch know that. He slid into a dream, tinging it with darkness and filling out the nightmare. Wendy screamed, fighting against the fear he forced into her world. He watched with perverse glee as the woman his soulmate coveted cowered in terror. Not so cool anymore.

He had haunted humanity since their first dawn on this planet. He didn’t expect to stop. Not because of some pretty brown eyes and sweet, gentle hugs. Bill Cipher sat back and enjoyed his vacation.

* * *

Dipper’s face was furrowed in concentration. His teeth dug painfully into his lip. His hands shook as he tried to draw his dormant magical power. Bill watched with muted interest at his soulmate’s struggle. “You can do it, Pine Tree. You have more power than this. Think about what you’re trying to make. The concept. Taste, texture, color, name. Don’t just think about it as a thing. What are its dimensions? This is a simple exercise.”

“Easily for you to say.” Dipper huffed. “You had eons of practice!”

“I was created as I am.” Bill drawled. “Demons are not like humans. We don’t mature. We don’t change. We are what we are. Forever.”

“You changed.” Dipper said breathlessly.

Bill quirked an eyebrow. “Have I?” He said flatly.

“Yes.” Dipper said it with all the confidence he typically lacked. “I know it more than anything.”

The demon hummed. The kid was right. His Henchmaniacs were right. Even the fucking dream goddess was right. He’d changed. He was hopelessly enraptured with a dumb human kid and he’d practically already given up on his ambitions of destroying the world. He just didn’t want to admit it to himself yet. All he wanted was to be in Gravity Falls with his mortal. He wanted to be part of the thrilling sense of adventure he sensed from Dipper’s memories of the forest. To stand in the beautiful rain and see the first snowfall in Oregon. It would be so easy to live like that. Like mortals do.

Wishing to live as a mortal was a huge change. Inspired in little more than a month.

“Just hurry up, Pine Tree. We don’t have all day, here.” Yes, they did. They never went anywhere. Never did anything. They were stuck in this little room until they lost their virginity together. But Bill waited with pressing interest to see the development of his soulmate’s skill. When he could do those things. He knew the human nervous system very well. He’d make his soulmate scream in ways he’d never made mortals scream before. Bill grinned ravenously behind his hands.

Dipper focused harder. He tried to think about the orange. Round, bumpy texture, tart, sweet taste. Bright color. He pressed his hands tighter and squeezed his whole body.

“Kid, we’re not trying to have a bowel movement here.” Dipper shouted indignantly at that. Bill gave him his most mischievous little smile. “That’s it. You’re probably not going to get it today. It just means we’re not done bonding yet. What should we do today? More TV?”

“No!” Dipper shouted. “Come on! I’ve been cuddling with you like crazy. I’ve shared my dreams with you and make deals and told you everything about myself. Even the embarrassing stuff! Why isn’t this working?!”

“Relax, Pine Tree. It could just be a matter of time. Or it could be the fact that there’s things we haven’t done together yet.”

“Like what?!” Dipper’s voice cracked at the end, his frustration straining him. Bill gave him a rakish grin.

“How about your first kiss?”

Dipper’s frustration fizzled out like a bad firecracker. He was left gaping like a fish in air and sputtering stupidly. Bill watched his brain stutter, trying to get going without much luck. He reached over and took Dipper’s hand, giving it a few soothing swipes of his thumb. In a minute, Dipper seemed to be back up to normal processing power.

He was blushing in a way that Bill couldn’t help but see as sweet. “Do you think that would help?” The boy asked sheepishly.

Bill’s eyebrows crept up his face. It wasn’t the outright rejection he expected. “It might. It’s another aspect we’d be sharing with each other. Another piece of you that would be mine. If it makes you feel better, this is my first kiss too.”

Dipper’s eyes darted around the room. Looking at the ornate fireplace, the dormant television, the grand piano. Anything that wasn’t Bill. Bill schooled his expression into neutrality. Any cocky smirks or shit-eating grins might scare the kid away. That was the last thing he wanted right now. He needed to appear dependable, trustworthy, and non-judgmental. Dipper’s lip worried between his teeth. Bill wanted to swipe his tongue over it. Sink his own teeth into it. Suck on it until it was an attractive blood red. The thought stirred some heat in his human abdomen.

No words passed between them, but a look of determination settled on the teenager’s face. Bill could practically hear his thought process. _The sooner I do this, the sooner I can see Mabel._ Bill couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment. He wanted Dipper to _want_ to kiss him. He wanted his soulmate to think of nothing but him. He would. Bill just had to drive those thought out of his mind. Along with anything else. This may be his first kiss, but Bill would make it his best.

Hesitant hands trailed up Bill’s arms, and his expression didn’t shake from neutrality. Shaking fingers teased at the edges of his dress vest. Bill waited. Dipper looped his fingers into Bill’s collar, and after a deep breath, he began to pull the demon in. This was all him. He gave the kid the control he needed. If he set the pace, he could do it when he was ready. And when he was ready Bill would give him his all.

Their lips met so softly Bill didn’t feel it at first. A graze that he wouldn’t have noticed if Dipper didn’t let his stuttering breath out, warming his lips. Bill found his lips parting at the breath in anticipation. His patience frayed at the edges, but he schooled himself into patience. This was about Dipper. This was about trusting him.

With a pause, Dipper pursued with a little more confidence. _Finally_ pressing their lips together. They molded with ease, and Bill found himself surprised at how soft human lips were. Dipper made a soft, surprised sound. A little tension melted out of his shoulders. Bill leaned in slightly. His hands gently cupped the sides of Dipper’s face. Holding him in place, but also assuring him. _This is okay. I’m here._

With a breath in through his nose, Dipper tilted his head experimentally, trying to find the best angle. Bill allowed him to adjust, gently putting pressure on his hands to urge him on. Finally, Dipper parted his lips ever so slightly.

Bill opened his mouth in turn, letting his tongue slip between Dipper’s lips. Not into his mouth just yet. Testing the waters. The kid gasped, leaning back onto the couch. Bill followed effortlessly, one of his knees coming up to hold him up on the couch. Once they were settled, Dipper hesitated. He was thinking about what to do next. Their breaths shared between their mouths. The heat seemed to rise two degrees in the room. His dress clothes suddenly seemed too tight on him. The moment of tense silence carried for an agonizing eternity.

But then Dipper slipped his own tongue against Bill’s. Bill leaned further into his soulmate’s space and made a sweet sound for Dipper to reward his compliance. Dipper was making desperate little huffs as Bill flicked his tongue against the kid’s miraculously well cleaned teeth. Bill carded his fingers through Dipper’s hair. Dipper’s knees came up to rest against the sides of Bill’s ribcage and _oh yeah_ it was definitely getting hotter.

Bill got a little more courageous in his exploration. Diving deeper than before and pressing his tongue up against Dipper’s hard palate. Dipper sank into Bill’s arms like a feather bed and make a sweet little sound that Bill reveled in. His soulmate was _gorgeous._ He tilted Dipper’s head and rolled their mouths together.

Dipper’s hands coasted up Bill’s clothed chest. He wished he wasn’t clothed. But taking them off would probably startle Dipper. Besides, they weren’t ready to consummate yet. Dipper wasn’t ready for that yet. He just had to wait. He growled, and Dipper made another soft, lilting sound. A moan. Holy Axolotl.

He parted gently, still holding Dipper’s face in his hands. His eye focused on what he was holding, and his breath hitched. Dipper’s entire face was an arresting shade of rose pink. His lips were slack and shining with shared saliva. Pupils blown so wide only a thin ring of chocolate brown remained. Stretched thin and ready to snap like an elastic band. Dipper’s breath came in heavy puffs. He was winded. Bill was too. Oh, man.

Good first kiss.

“Are you okay, Dipper?” Bill didn’t even notice how Dipper’s name slipped past his lips. But he _did_ notice the way his cheeks flushed, pleased with the way Bill said it.

“Mhmm.” He hummed in affirmation. Dipper wasn’t sure if he could say anything at that moment. His brain was overwhelmed with sensation. Scrambling to burn the memory of soft lips against his while simultaneously trying to preserve the searing heat Bill left in his mouth. Dipper’s whole body was hot, actually. His basketball shorts felt tight, and Dipper had a faint recognition that this was probably arousal. It was enticing. Dipper instantly wanted more.

Demons weren’t anything like churches said. But there was one thing they undeniably got right. They were _tempting._

Bill leaned in again, and Dipper’s lips automatically opened for another kiss, but his lips bypassed Dipper. Instead landing on his forehead.

“Thank you for giving that to me.” Bill said quietly.

Dipper felt a writhing tendril of shame inside for his eagerness. But he chose to focus on the little smile Bill was giving him. He sucked in several deep breaths. It was okay. No one was judging him. No one would hurt him. It’s okay to want things. Maybe if he told himself that, he’d believe it.

“Yeah.” He replied.

* * *

Bill was trying to learn things about humans. There were things that were simple enough about them. They were distressed without sun, they wanted you to ask permission to touch and kiss them, they liked free will and choices, even if they never intended to make them. But what he didn’t understand was marriage.

Human beings weren’t built for monogamy. They didn’t mate for life like other mammals or birds. It should have been expected that humans have many partners and raise children communally. Instead they closed themselves off into units called families and expected that their partner only mate with them. They weren’t like Dipper, who had a destined life-long partner. They could choose anyone. So why just one?

What did Bill see when he looked into memories of weddings? Cake, fancy clothes, picture taking, dancing and games. All the things humans normally did for fun. Just a lot more formal with an emphasis on romance and lifetime commitment. He wondered if Dipper would want a wedding? Demons didn’t get married. Demons didn’t mate. Demons came into creation and lived as creators of chaos with no real purpose or reflection. Could someone like him get married and mate? Why did demons have soulmates if they didn’t have interest in sex? Bill couldn’t answer these questions. The only way he could explain his connection to Dipper was the idea that the Axolotl meant it this way. Dipper was the buffer between humanity and the destructive power of demons. That Bill was meant to fall in love with Dipper and protect humanity for him. But why would the Axolotl choose these creatures to protect? Why not the dream deity or the countless other planets he and his Henchmaniacs destroyed?

He watched passively at a memory of a man lifting a woman into his arms. Carrying her and all the puffy folds of white tule across the church steps into a waiting car. Her smile was radiant, even more so than her dress. She caught the awe and attention of all the gathered humans. The groom puffed his chest out with pride. Would Dipper want something like this?

Children, weddings. White picket fences and minivans. Some of these things Bill could give him. Others… He wrinkled his nose at the fat little humans that occupied the lives of the adult humans who cared for them. What was the appeal?

He supposed it was because of their short lifespans. Humans lived very short lives. They saw about 70 spins around the sun on average. The only way they could immortalize themselves was through marriage and children. Having a mate who would stay and care for the children as a team was efficient, and they could have double the income as a partnership. They could also have someone to grow old and die with. Another thing Bill couldn’t give Dipper. His heart sank at the idea of Dipper withering and leaving him. He could never age with his human. It seemed the Axolotl was being cruel. Finally waving something in his face that he could never, ever have. No matter how powerful he was. _Because_ of how powerful he was. He would never have Dipper forever.

The demon sighed. Glittering golden rings. Lifelong commitment. He did like the idea of Dipper promising to be with him forever. It was like a deal, in the annoying human way. Legal contracts and promises and all that.

He looked again at the happy, perfect day of a wedding. Immortalized forever in the groom’s memory. He never forgot his wife. Even when she died and left him on Earth. In a way, by marrying her husband, she had immortalized herself.

Bill quietly decided he would marry Dipper. Even if he couldn’t have everything, he could have some of those things. He could have Dipper for whatever time the human had left. A promise symbolized by golden rings. Someday he could have the pretty wedding day, and get all those other humans off his man. His sneered again at the thought of Ice. Damn redhead.

All he had to do was finish the Bond. Maybe they could try summoning that orange again.

* * *

Demon magic was complicated. Dipper was learning that. Bill had a lot of power, and used it with ease. It should be simple enough. To summon an orange. He focused all of his thoughts on citrus. Oranges. Clementines. Sweet, sour, bursts of juice in his mouth. Pulp rolling down his throat. Squirts of burning juice in his eyes when he peeled the skin away from the fruit inside. Spitting out seeds. He could make an orange. If he focused all of the power in his body into a single point.

“Come on.” He whispered. His frustration was building. “One orange!”

With a burst of mental energy that was frankly too exhausting for the small task assigned, the air around Dipper crackled with energy. Out of thin air, a single orange dropped into his hand.

“Ah!” Dipper shouted, his head spinning from the effort. “I did it!”

“Woah, hold it, Pine Tree.” Bill caught Dipper as he slumped forward. Like a puppet with its strings cut. Tired eyes looked up at the demon, and Dipper had a lopsided grin on his face.

“I told you I could do it.” Dipper whispered. “I made an orange.”

“You made a Bond.” Bill said. “Good job, Pine Tree. I knew you had it in ya.”

Dipper rolled the orange in his palm. Contemplating it. “Does this mean… I can go home now?” He asked.

Bill froze. Here was the next part. “Not quite. But almost.” He promised. “There’s just one last thing. To complete the Bond fully. Before you can go home.”

Dipper sighed. Of course. Of course, there was. Things were never that easy with Bill Cipher. “Yeah, okay. Okay. So, what is it? Do I have to do a blood sacrifice? Do a long hunting ritual to prove my worth? Dance in front of the full moon stark naked?”

“Woah, kid. You’re getting ahead of yourself. Slow your roll.” Bill huffed. “It’s pretty simple. We consummate the bond now. Like. A mate would. Soulmates.”

Dipper scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. That would mean…” His brain worked perilously slow around Bill’s words. He wasn’t sure if it was the energy drain from using magic, or if it was the denial, but what Bill actually said didn’t quite hit him for a good, long moment. Dipper felt his heart drop out of his ass when he realized what Bill was actually saying. “You don’t _actually_ mean.”

“I mean we have to have sex, Pine Tree. Do you know what that means?” Bill asked. It was possible he didn’t. He was pretty young, as humans went. And his physical maturation process had just started. He was aware that at some point, adults taught young teens about the physical process their bodies were taking, but tried to avoid actually talking about mating at any point. Seemed like a dangerous oversight. But Bill could educate him.

“I know what it is!” Dipper snapped. He was very defensive, and indigo flames were starting to crawl up his arms, dancing over his shoulders. “I’m… I’m not ready! Do you have any idea how young I am?”

“You’re a teenager.” Bill said. “I think you already have some interest in sex. Or is your weird hovering around Ice some kind of bit?”

Dipper’s face flared an angry red at the mention of Wendy. Maybe an oversight on his part. Start over again. “Look kid, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get you home. Then you can stay with your sister, go to school, and do whatever you want. Explore the forest and get in trouble with gnomes or whatever.” Bill offered. Dipper’s body language conveyed some interest in that. Going home. “I’m not going to force you to do anything. You can’t force a Soul Bond. I’m going to do this the right way. Remember our kiss? You know I can make this good for you.”

Dipper’s face took on a different shade of red at the mention of the kiss. He remembered all too well the hot feeling in his stomach. Maybe Bill was right. Maybe he _did_ have some interest in sex. He could do this, right? Then he could go home. If he just got it over with quickly, he could see Mabel again. Everything would be just as it was before.

He promised he wouldn’t force him.

“I… I’ll do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware this is some bad shit. Bad ending! But trust me on this, okay? Read the next chapter in full. It's not going to be terrible.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, what does Bill decide?

This was _nothing_ like their first kiss.

Dipper gasped into Bill’s mouth, the small opening allowing the demon to quest deeper than ever before. There was a desperation that hadn’t been there the first time. A hunger and a need that Dipper was unfamiliar with. His head spun with the need to breathe, but he couldn’t pull away. He threw his arms around the demon’s neck, keeping him in close. They shared breath and warmth and burning passion. Dipper dimly realized they were probably moving too fast. He pulled his head back a little, tilting his face up and sliding his tongue back to the front of Bill’s mouth. The demon indulged him and slowed their pace. Leaning into this new angle. Dipper let Bill brush his hair out of his face. One yellow eye affixed itself onto his forehead. Their soul mark. Dipper shrank under his soulmate in embarrassment.

Bill turned his attention back onto conquering Dipper’s mouth. Allowing his hands to slip up under the hem of Dipper’s shirt. The kid jerked at the skin-to-skin contact and made a soft noise of surprise, which Bill swallowed up eagerly. The loose cotton fabric was hiked up easily, and Bill was glad he’d given the kid his clothes back. They were much easier to move around. But he didn’t unclothe Dipper yet, allowing the kid to get comfortable before he leapt into something new. They’d kissed before. And he would continue to do so for as long as Dipper needed.

Sweat allowed Bill’s hands to slip more easily over his chest, Dipper jerked at the contact and huffed into the demon’s mouth. Finally, he tore his head away. Bill allowed Dipper to go, drinking in the sight of his face in the light. It was just coming to noon, but Bill had summoned a pair of thick curtains to go over the window. He didn’t want anything distracting Dipper from their Bonding process. All that was left was the light of the fireplace. Honeyed light on his flushed face gave Dipper an attractive rose gold shade that Bill found himself obsessed with. One hand came away from Dipper’s chest to cup his face gently. Dipper leaned into the contact with a desperate little noise. He looked scared. He was sweating feverishly and shaking like a leaf. Bill frowned. He wanted the kid to be comfortable. This wasn’t going to work if he wasn’t on board.

Bill pulled away from his soulmate. Tugging lightly at the buttons of his vest and dress shirt. Dipper watched with nervous anticipation while Bill slipped off his shirt. Under the black fabric was a toned midriff and smooth, sun-kissed skin. Bill smirked at the way Dipper tilted his head in interest. Warm arms wrapped themselves around Dipper, propping him up against his body. With Dipper’s t-shirt hiked up under his armpits, their skin met and molded perfectly. Bill gave a little sigh, and waited for Dipper to calm down.

The kid squirmed a little, but eventually settled, allowing Bill to kiss behind his ears and make his way down. Past his neck, and hesitating for a moment. Bill turned his one eye up to make eye contact. “Just so you know, kid. I kneel for _no one._ ” With that the demon settled onto his knees. Right between Dipper’s legs. Dipper was confused for a moment, but Bill began to try and tug away his basketball shorts.

 _Woah!_ The reality of what was happening slammed into Dipper like a gut punch. He shrieked and shoved Bill’s face away from his crotch. “STOP!” He yelled.

Everything screeched to a halt. Bill stopped what he was doing and pulled his hands away from Dipper’s clothes, back towards himself. Dipper was shaking in full force again, and tears were gathering in the corners of the human’s eyes. Bill instantly dropped any ideas he had of continuing. “Hey, woah, Pine Tree. I told you I wouldn’t force ya. We can stop now. Hey, don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry!” Dipper cried. “I can’t do it, I’m not ready. I’m not—I can’t stop! I have to see Mabel again. My family is waiting for me.”

Bill frowned. The kid was _really_ torn up about his separation. He’d given his best efforts in fostering the human. Putting plants around the room, a TV, getting rid of the human flesh furniture. But the human never really thrived in the environment Bill kept him in. Because he wasn’t free. And he wasn’t with his family. “Kid, do you ever want to Bond with me? Are you… in love with me?”

“I don’t know! I think I like you, but you keep me in a fancy cage locked away from my family! It’s like how Gideon kept Mabel in that bubble. I don’t… I don’t think I can love you when you won’t let me free.” Dipper said.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Bill said earnestly. “Like, honest to god psychosis. It’s driving me nuts. I don’t want to tear apart the Falls anymore. I just want to live in it with you. But if I let you go you won’t stay with me. We had a deal, you stay forever.”

“I can’t make good on that deal! I’m not ready to… mate.” Dipper shuddered at the last word. “I’m not even sure if I’m physically developed enough for that yet. Honestly it kind of terrifies me.”

Bill sat back on his heels, looking up at his teary-eyed soulmate with an aching heart. Suddenly he recalled Ford, locked in a cage, begging him not to make a deal with Dipper. He kept appealing back to his boyhood. “He’s just a child.” Bill didn’t really take that into account at the time. Humans lived such short lifespans that he didn’t think their age mattered. But looking at Dipper now, it was obvious what Ford had meant. He was in no way ready for such a developed romantic or sexual relationship like this.

But Bill couldn’t take it back. He was fond of Dipper. The kid had wormed his way into his heart and changed him forever. He couldn’t go back to living without his second half. He couldn’t exist with a Dipper-shaped hole in his soul. Especially now that their Bond was so far along. Their souls were already mostly knit together. He couldn’t live without the kid. He didn’t _want_ to live without him. They had a deal, and Bill wanted to keep it.

He sighed.

This wasn’t about him.

“Kid, when do humans develop?” Bill asked.

Dipper sniffled, looking up from where he’d pressed his face into his knees. “We’re usually considered mature when we get to be eighteen years old.” He said quietly.

Bill huffed. “Alright, kid. I’m going to make you a new deal. My final deal.” He looked right into Dipper’s eyes. “I can’t mate with you. Because you’re not ready. I said I wouldn’t force you and I’m a demon of my word. You made a deal with me to keep your family safe. To stay with me forever. But I didn’t say _where_ we had to stay.”

Dipper’s eyes widened infinitesimally. A dawning recognition of the gesture Bill was making.

“We’re going back to the Mystery Shack. We’re going to stay in the Mystery Shack until you turn eighteen. If you decide to mate with me then, then we finish the Bond and stay together forever.”

“What if I don’t?” Dipper asked.

Bill’s heart dropped at the suggestion. What if he didn’t? What if he settled down with Ice or some other lowlife? What if setting him free meant letting him go? Bill considered taking back his deal. Throwing it out and keeping the kid forever.

But he couldn’t say no to that face.

“Ugh. Then I’ll go home or something. Kid, I highly doubt you’ll be able to resist my charm and good looks.” Bill said with false bravado. “I want to stay with you forever, and you made a deal. But I’m going to give you back your sister. Like you wanted. Because I honest to Axolotl really do love you. And it hurts like a _bitch_ when you cry like that. So dry your tears.”

“But why wait? Why are you doing this when you could have me now?” Dipper asked. Ah, there was that doubtful kid he knew and loved.

“I waited for millennia for you. I can wait five more measly human years.” Bill said, taking on his trademark rakish grin. “To me, you’re the soulmate worth waiting for.”

Dipper’s heart fluttered at those words. God _damn_ it. Bill was right. He couldn’t resist his charm.

“So. Back to the Mystery Shack. No more funny business. For five years. Or however long it takes for you to accept that you’re mine.” Bill held out his hand, the blue flames of a deal dancing along his fingers. “Do we have a deal?”

Again, there were tears on Dipper’s face. He was so overwhelmed. The demon in front of him was totally unrecognizable from the demon who had made a deal with him a month before. Because now Bill cared enough to wait for his love, and earn it.

This was a demon he could love without guilt.

“Deal.” Dipper agreed. And he shook Bill’s hand with no regrets.

* * *

Ford woke startled with a harsh banging on the Mystery Shack door. He groaned, rubbing at his eyes to try and grind the sleep out of them. Who the hell was knocking on their door this early in the morning? He ignored it, resting his head back onto the kitchen table and closing his eyes again.

There was another, less patient round of knocking on the door. Ford shouted in frustration. Shoving his glasses on his face. With jerky, irritated movements, he stood up from his chair in the kitchen. “Alright! I’m up, I’m up.” He limped over to the front door. Sleeping at the table was _killing_ his back. He pulled the door open, scowling at the people behind it. His irritation immediately replaced with shock the moment he saw who was behind it.

“Dipper!” He cried, throwing his arms around his great nephew. Within an instant of hearing those words, everyone in the house was up and clamoring to get to the front door. Stan shoved his brother aside, grabbing his nephew and crushing him in his arms.

“Oh god, we thought we’d never see you again!” Stan was crying. Openly letting tears fall onto Dipper’s baseball cap. Mark and Erin began to fawn over Dipper, scanning him for cuts, bruises, or any abnormalities. But everyone stepped aside for Mabel. Barreling straight into her brother’s arms without even looking at anyone else.

“DIPPER!” She screamed, piercing the eardrums of bystanders. “Oh my god, Dipper! I’m so sorry, I love you, bro. Oh my—”

“Mabel, I’m okay. I missed you too.” Dipper assured her, returning her hug with visible relief. “I’ll never leave again.”

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Stan growled. No one even chastised him for his language, taking in the human form of the demon who’d taken him. Ford reached for a particle destabilizer at his hip. Erin and Mark gawked at the demon. Stan slipped his hands into his pockets and put on his brass knuckles. Mabel gave Bill a murderous glare strong enough to melt steel. Bill just gave the Pines family an easy smile.

“Nice to see you too!” Bill chirped sarcastically. “Love seeing the future in-laws. Mind if I crash at your place?”

“Absolutely not!” Ford shouted. Stan reached out, grabbing Dipper and Mabel and dragging them away from Bill. Bill’s eye followed Dipper as he was pulled away and frowned slightly. “When I find a way to cast you out of this dimension, you are going to—”

“Well, here’s the dealio, Fordsy. I made another deal!” Bill interrupted. “Dipper and I stay here, in the Mystery Shack until he turns eighteen. As it turns out, Dipper doesn’t want to have sex with me until he’s ready. So I need a place to kick back while we wait for him to grow up.”

Stan clapped his hands over Mabel’s ears. Mark looked like he was going to faint. Ford was ready to murder somebody. “No! You aren’t allowed in this house! You can’t get in because of the—wait why didn’t the unicorn spell stop you?”

“Oh, because of our Bond!” Bill gave Ford a withering smile. “I just shattered the barrier around your Shack. My new powers include being immune to some demon magic! I imagine because Dipper’s soul is human. So that little trick won’t work again.” Ford paled at the realization that the Shack was no longer safe from Cipher.

“Dipper has to come home with us to Piedmont.” Erin interrupted. “To go back to school. Eighth grade has already started and they have to catch up!”

“Isn’t there a school here? It’s not like there aren’t children.” Bill frowned. “Look, I can shatter barriers that keep demons out, or in. But I can’t pass through them. There’s a barrier around Gravity Falls that keeps weirdness in. Believe me, you don’t want me getting rid of that. I’m not the only dangerous thing in Gravity Falls. Until I complete the Bond with Dipper I’m staying here. That means he’s staying here.”

Ford growled. As much as he liked the idea of Dipper and Mabel staying with them, he didn’t like the fact that it came at the cost of living with a demon.

“That would be great!” Mabel gasped. “I could go to school with Candy and Grenda!”

“Yeah. Except that we’re your parents and we have jobs and a house to get back to.” Erin said, with no small irritation. “You have to come home with us.”

“Do you really want to cross a demon older than your galaxy?” Bill asked. “Because I’m perfectly fine with showing you exactly why that’s not happening.”

“Bill! Stop. Everyone, stop.” Dipper said. “I’m going to stay here. I made a deal. I know you don’t know what that means, mom. But it’s binding. I want to stay here. And if Bill can stay with us, that would be great. It’s either here, or he takes me where you can never find me again. Please, trust me.”

Stan very much _didn’t_ want to trust Dipper. He was a thirteen-year-old kid. He had no idea how dangerous the game he was playing was. He didn’t want his nephew to be hurt.

But he also didn’t want to lose him again.

“Free labor.” Stan grunted. “From Bill. And he’s _not_ sleeping in the same room as you! He can sleep on the floor, for all I care.”

“I’m sure I’ll find somewhere, mister Pines.” Bill said innocently. He hid a grin behind his hand. He was going to sleep in Stan’s room until he got fed up and let him sleep with Dipper.

“What about us? Our jobs, our house?” Mark reminded them.

“You could go back to those things. Or move out here and live with us.” Dipper said, eyes lit up with excitement. “This place is amazing! I can’t wait to tell you about all the things I’ve learned this summer. And all the adventure I’ve had. It’s going to be great, please come live with us.”

Erin and Mark hesitated. They had a mortgage and friends. They had commitments back in Piedmont. Besides that, their kids seemed happy with Stanley and Stanford. Their kids were important to them. But Gravity Falls was a terrible little Podunk. They didn’t want to live there with the strange people or the weird demons or the mosquitos that were significantly larger than normal.

“…We’ll visit.” Mark said.

Stan hated to say it, but he nearly breathed a sigh of relief. At least he’d finally be getting his room back. And wouldn’t have to deal with the kid’s parents breathing down his neck about “responsible parenting decisions” and “fire hazards.”

Bill stepped over the threshold like he owned the place. Stan huffed. In with one problem, out with another.

“I don’t care about anything.” Mabel said, squeezing Dipper tighter. “As long as I have my brother back.”

Dipper sighed into his sister’s hair. He’d missed the smell of her bubblegum shampoo. “I missed you.” He repeated.

For the first time in a month, all was well in the Mystery Shack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I think Mark and Erin would abandon their kids? No. Do I care about their characters or their place in the story? No. So I’m throwing them out. Goodbye!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! If you're reading this, congratulations! You got past the "will she write kid porn" plot! So glad you're here. Let's wrap this story up.

“Bill, you can’t keep summoning money out of thin air. That’s super illegal and bad for the economy! I’ve got to teach you about inflation.” Dipper sighed, kicking a rock down the dirt road.

“Nonsense. The only inflation I know about is the inflated price of your Uncle’s merchandise. That man preforms highway robbery on a daily basis.” Bill rolled his eye. Dipper held a bag of groceries in one hand, paid for by demon magic. The townsfolk were wary of Bill Cipher. In fact, they hated him. Dipper couldn’t blame them. But they did tolerate him because of Dipper. While Bill was run out of grocery stores and communal buildings, Dipper was lauded as a hero since his return. People thanked him for his sacrifice every day. He got free pancakes at Greasy’s. Even magical forest creatures treated him with respect, anything from worshipping to begrudging. As far as Gravity Falls was concerned, Dipper was the bravest hero of them all. If Dipper was the one pulling the demon around on the leash, they’d look the other way.

The rest of his family was getting used to him with varying degrees of success. Stan was grateful for more free labor to exploit, but his affection ended there. He glared at every brush of hand, checked on Dipper in the middle of the night to make sure Bill wasn’t trying to sleep with him, and complained much more than usual. Ford always _casually_ mentioned how many demon-destroying artifacts he had in the basement. And Wendy made no secret her disdain for the demon who’d made off with Dipper. Soos, however, was always a bit slow on the uptake and too quick to forgive. He accepted Bill right away after deeming that he wouldn’t murder them anymore. Mabel was suspicious for weeks, but after seeing how affectionate and caring Bill was to her brother, she had hesitantly allowed it. Even knitted him a black sweater with a glittery golden triangle, which Bill now wore often as the weather got colder. All in all, things were back to as normal as they could be in Gravity Falls.

“Yes, well, it pays the mortgage.” Dipper said lightly. He was aware of Stan’s shady dealings. He’d have to be blind, deaf, and possibly in a coma to _not_ notice. But he loved his Grunkle all the same. He wasn’t the most honorable man, but he had a good heart.

“I could pay the mortgage. I can summon gold out of thin air.” Bill said.

“Oh boy. That lesson on inflation could not come any sooner.” Dipper jogged up the road as they broke through the clearing onto the Mystery Shack property. There were chores to do. Sweeping the shop, taking out the trash, scraping off his Grunkle’s dandruff with a comb. But he usually left that job to Mabel. She saw it as the work of a stylist, and gossiped with Stan about the goings on of the Falls while gently scratching away his dead skin. He shuddered at the thought of having to do it. Sometimes he had to when Mabel left with Candy and Grenda, and Dipper would honestly prefer to fight bats in the kitchen. But luckily Mabel was tackling that draining chore later. All Dipper had to do for now was rake the leaves.

Bill walked into the Mystery Shack. Mabel was on the gift shop floor, putting together another scrapbook page. This one about starting 8th grade. “Bill! I need your opinion. Puffy stickers, or glitter stickers?”

The demon leaned over Mabel’s shoulder to look at her work and supplies. “Puffy stickers. That way you add dimension to the page. You already have chunky glitter and glitter glue. Best to have a variety of decorations.” He said.

“I love you!” Mabel squealed.

Dipper huffed. “Why don’t you ask me?”

“Dipper, I love you. But you have no eye for design.” Mabel said, peeling puffy stickers off the sheets and affixing them to the corners of their school photos.

He knew better than to argue. Even if he thought she was wrong. Dipper slid the milk and eggs into the fridge. Groceries went easy. Gummies in the cabinet, cereal on the counter next to the toaster. He moved around the kitchen like a seasoned pro. Until the crackers. He always hated this part. They went on the top shelf. Grunkle Stan refused to get a step ladder because he claimed he could “do it like a man, or give up like a loser.” Dipper stood on his tiptoes to put the crackers on the top shelf. While he teetered on his toes, stretching his spine out to the fullest, Bill wrapped his hands around Dipper’s waist. Dipper gave an indignant, and rather embarrassing, high-pitched yelp as he was lifted unexpectedly. He glared down at his demon.

“Bill! I can do it myself!”

“Don’t be like that, Pine Tree. You’re already up. Put the crackers up there and I’ll let ya down.” Bill said, hiding his mischievous smile where Dipper couldn’t see it.

Dipper huffed and slid the crackers into their place on the shelf. Just in time for Grunkle Stan to storm in. He saw Bill’s hands on Dipper’s waist and a deep scowl set into his Grunkly old face. “What’s the big idea?” He grumbled.

Bill did _not_ hide his mischievous smile from Stan. “Helping Dipper reach a place he can’t.” He said innocently. Dipper wriggled, and Bill slowly let the human down onto his own two feet.

Stan fumed, grinding his teeth angrily. “I’ll just get a step ladder. Jesus, keep your hands off my kid.”

Bill, his hands still resting on Dipper’s waist, squeezed lasciviously. Dipper flushed bright red and smacked Bill across the face. But the shit eating grin didn’t budge. His eyes were right on Stan. Stan, in response, raised his fists menacingly. Ready to take up Bill's obvious offer to fight.

“Stop!” Dipper threw his hands up as the peacekeeper of the household. “No fighting! Bill, keep your hands to yourself. We’ve got chores to do. Let’s go.”

He led the demon away, ignoring the electric tension between Bill and Stan. Dipper huffed in annoyance, glaring at the demon in tow behind him as soon as they were out of range. “Do you _have_ to provoke him like that?”

“He wants to act like he’s the man in charge. I’m also a man who likes to be in charge. Our personalities just clash.” Bill said soothingly to his human. Dipper didn’t take the smooth talk well. He threw open the screen door, and it banged against the doorframe behind them when they stepped onto the lawn.

“You also try to imply consistently that there’s something… funny going on between us behind closed doors! You know he hates that. For good reason.” Dipper muttered, shoving a rake into Bill’s hands. “You piss him off like it's your job. Try to be good, please.”

“I already made a deal with you! I’m not going to mate with you until you’re an adult! So he needs to quit acting like I’m some predator living with a lamb!” Bill shouted. Dipper glared at Bill. Demon. Fair point. “But. I will try to be peaceful. For you.”

“Thank you.” Dipper said, giving Bill one of the radiant smiles he seemed unable to resist. He was awfully easy to please, for a demon.

The sky was clear and bright. No more x-shaped scar stretched over the sun or pyramid floating over the heads of the townspeople. The rift had been closed by Bill himself long ago. He sent the Fearamid back through the portal. The demons he’d kept as underlings, the Henchmaniacs, were “unlikely to show his face on his turf again.” Bill said this with an unsettling grin, and he hung a strange 8-ball on their porch soon afterwards. “A reminder.” He said. Dipper allowed it, but he did find the 8-ball slightly unsettling.

He quietly wondered what Bill’s former friends would think of him now. Dipper took in the sight of Bill Cipher raking leaves in the sweater a 13-year-old girl made for him. He knew what _he_ thought about this new Bill.

He thought he was _wonderful._

They pulled leaves into piles along the edges of the forest. The good thing about having a house near the woods was that you could just rake leaves beyond the tree line. No packaging or pickup required. Summer had been great in Gravity Falls, but Dipper was hesitant to say he liked Fall even better. The golden trees surrounding the Shack and sweet smell of the forest in Autumn was something Dipper could definitely see himself getting used to.

Leaves crunched pleasantly underfoot, the rake scrapped them across the lawn into piles, and Dipper grinned as he saw them grow bigger and bigger. The lawn was just about done now, and he knew what he wanted to do when it was.

Dipper watched eagerly as Bill began to drag over the remains of the leaves on the lawn. The demon took notice, it was hard not to. The kid was biting his lip and acting like an excited puppy. But Dipper hadn’t said anything yet. Bill smiled and continued what he was doing. Pretending like he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary whatsoever. He was sure he’d know soon enough.

He was right. When all the leaves were in one place, Dipper used his rake to drag them all closer together and fluff them up. Making the perfect pile. When he was satisfied with his work, Dipper did a half-jog across the lawn until he was a fair distance away.

“Bill! Come on, over here!” Dipper shouted as he gestured with his hands. The demon tilted his head curiously and followed instructions. Floating over to stand next to Dipper. The kid grinned at his soulmate, flinging off his hat. “Follow my lead.”

With that, the kid took a running start, hooting and shouting with joy as he jumped into the pile of leaves they raked up. Bill watched with wide eyes as the kid disappeared into the pile, leaves flying up around him at the impact. Though he couldn’t see, Bill could still hear the excited giggles of his soulmate. Dipper rolled around in the leaves, inhaling their scent happily. With a grin, he sat up, looking across the lawn where Bill stood frozen. “Come on! We don’t have all day!”

Bill rolled his eyes affectionately. Humans.

With that the demon ran across the lawn like a shot, throwing himself into the pile with his soulmate. Half of their raking work was ruined at this point. But what was the point of working all day if you didn’t get to do fun, childish shit sometimes? Dipper was still riding the high of the leap, and dissolved into laughter when he saw Bill poking his head out of the leaves.

“Dude! You’ve got sticks in your hair!” He said between giggles. Dipper reached over and helped his soulmate pull the debris out of his dyed hair. By help, Dipper supposed that meant he did all the work while Bill stared at him with warm, loving eyes. He did this sometimes. Ever since Dipper taught him about why rain was great, Bill talked a lot about “appreciating beauty the way mortals do.” Sometimes he looked at the falling leaves that way, or the lights displays people set up for Halloween. But mostly he just looked at Dipper that way. It never failed to make Dipper blush. Sure enough, he felt the heat rising to his cheeks. It was just the chill Autumn air. Sure.

Dipper tossed the sticks into the underbrush and collapsed back into the soft, comforting bed of leaves. “Oh, we have to do that again.”

But Bill had other plans. Mainly wrapping his arms around him in a vice grip and cuddling in close. “In a minute.”

Oh well. It didn’t hurt to indulge him. Dipper smiled. “Yeah. In a minute.”

Bill and Dipper watched the clouds roll by overhead. Heard the birds chirp and the leaves rustle in the wind. Felt the world move around them while they enjoyed their moment of rest. It was so easy. It was so peaceful. Being together like this, and Dipper felt himself sink further into the plant matter. Closing his eyes with a deep release of breath. Years of stress rolled easily off his shoulders. Bill held him ever closer. Just a minute.

“Dipper?” Bill said quietly.

“Hmm?” Dipper hummed.

“I love you.” Bill whispered. Right next to his ear. Dipper felt the heat rise up his neck again. “Really.”

“I know.” Dipper said. Then he waited. Should he say it? He never had before. But hidden away from the worries of the world in their bed of Autumn, Dipper thought that maybe any words were easy to say. “I love you too.”

God, he meant it, too.

Bill made a quiet, contented noise and rested his head under Dipper’s chin. Out of instinct, Dipper’s hands rested themselves on Bill’s back. The world was quiet, and Dipper was at peace in a world where he finally knew what it meant to feel complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I had so much fun writing at it was honestly so fun seeing your support. I hope to write more about Gravity Falls. Even if the show is long over, the imagination never stops. Here's my first contribution to a great fandom. Have a great life, keep reading!


End file.
